Duel Across Time and Space
by VerdeSaiyan
Summary: A mysterious entity with a very familiar face attempts to destroy humanity with his shadow power, but the Crimson Dragon intervenes! Legends of the past and future must unite to defeat this foe, and save all worlds!
1. Chapter 1

In the ruins of a once-glorious metropolis, a young man surveys the destroyed city. He wore a blue coat studded with multi-colored orbs, as well as a red and black shirt with blue pants. His hair is comprised of wild, frost-like bluish gray spikes with blond accents tucked halfhazardly under a helmet. He is seated on a futuristic red and white motorcycle-type vehicle.

"Damn!" He cursed. "I didn't even have time to get my riding suit!"

An explosion thundered behind him, causing him to nearly break the pedal with his foot.

An ominous figure wearing a black robe on a horse appeared. But this could be no normal horse, to keep up with an over two-hundred mile-per-hour machine like a Duel Runner. The figure rode side-by-side to him.

" _Yusei Fudo...your time as come._ "

"My time!?" Yusei growled angrily. "Like all the innocent people you slaughtered?" He revved his Runner's engine. "The hell with you, Blood!"

The figure raised his arm, activating a device resembling a dull copper Duel Disk, but with five feathery panels, each with two card zones.

" _Accept your fate...and duel_!"

Yusei's Duel Runner screen flashed red a few times as it was forced into Duel Mode. "What the-!? Is this a virus!?"

" _You have no choice. Duel. And die._ "

"Fine!" Yusei shouted. "But I'll start!" His disk ejected six cards into his wrist dealer.

Yusei-4000 Lp.

Blood-4000 Lp.

' _It looks like Speed World 2 didn't deploy..._ ' Yusei thought. ' _So this will be a Turbo Duel...with Ground Duel rules?_ _No matter. I'll end this quickly_!"

"It's my turn! I summon Junk Blader in attack mode!" A swordsman with a ragged cape carrying a red, glowing sword appeared. (1800atk)

"And because I control a 'Junk' Monster, I can special summon Junk Servant from my hand!" An eight-foot tall red and black robot appeared. (1500atk)

"I'll place two cards face down and end my turn!" Two cards with their backs to the sky appeared next to his Duel Runner before disappearing.

" _Draw._ " Blood declared, drawing his sixth card. " _I'll use the Raigeki Magic Card._ "

"What!?" Yusei shouted as his monsters were blasted away by a heavenly thunderbolt. "Where'd you get such a powerful rare card!?"

" _I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard._ " A blond elf knight appeared, wielding a silver sword. (1400atk) " _Attack him directly!"_

Yusei reacted quickly. "I activate the Trap Card, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" A small scarecrow made of wrought iron and wiring appeared, intercepting the slash of the sword.

"This card negates your attack and switches face down to stop a future attack!"

Blood placed another card on his strange Disk. " _I'll play one card face down and end my turn._ "

"My turn! Draw!" Yusei exclaimed. "Now I'll summon Speed Warrior!" A warrior wearing light gray armor appeared. (900atk) "When Speed Warrior is Normal Summoned, I can double his attack points until the end of the turn!" (900-1800atk)

"Speed Warrior! Attack Obnoxious Celtic Guard! Hypersonic Slash!" His monster dashed up to the Elf, lashing him with a powerful kick, shattering him.

Blood-3900 Lp.

" _I activate the Trap Card,_ _ **Allied Cavalry**_ _._ " Blood declared. " _When a Warrior on my field is destroyed, I can pay 500 Life Points to special summon a Four-star Spellcaster from my deck._ " His Life Points fell to 3400 as Rapid Fire Magician appeared on his field. (1600atk)

"Your turn." Yusei said. ' _I can't use Spell Cards because Speed Spells can only be used in Turbo Duels...and this is my Turbo Duel Deck._ _I hope this doesn't get too out of hand..._ '

" _Draw._ " Blood said calmly. " _I sacrifice Rapid Fire Magician for_ _ **Blood Sorceress**_ _!_ " The first Spellcaster disappeared, only to be replaced by a very familiar-looking female one. It resembled Dark Magician Girl in almost every way, only she had deep blood red hair, pale white skin, and yellow eyes. Her outfit was a skimpy black feminine armor with a very short gold skirt. (2000atk)

" _Blood Sorceress! Destroy Speed Warrior_!" The girl aimed her staff. " _When she attacks, I can reveal one 'Blood' Monster in my hand to prevent you from activating card effects in reaction._ " He flipped one card in his hand before the sorceress blasted Speed Warrior away with a sadistic laugh.

Yusei-2900 Lp.

" _When Blood Sorceress destroys a monster by battle, she deals damage to you equal to the number of cards in my hand multiplied by 300!_ _I have four, so you're dealt 1200 damage_!"

Yusei braced himself best he could as he was blasted by another wave of dark energy from the sorceress's staff.

Yusei-1700 Lp.

" _I place one card face down and end my turn._ "

"I have to...win!" Yusei shouted, drawing. "I summon...Junk Synchron!" A small orange warrior appeared, with a motor on his back. (1300atk) "And now I'll use his effect to summon Speed Warrior from my graveyard!" The grey speed-suited warrior appeared. (900atk)

" _A Tuner and a non-Tuner..._ " Blood mused. " _You will Synchro Summon this turn._ "

"That's right! Level 3 Junk Warrior tunes Level 2 Speed Warrior!" Yusei began, as Junk Warrior turned into three rings of green light that encircled Speed Warrior, who became two orbs of light. "Let's rev it up! I Synchro Summon...Junk Warrior!" A powerful blue and gray mechanized warrior with jet wings for shoulders, and steel knuckles. (2300atk)

"Junk Warrior! Attack Blood Sorceress! Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior flew in quickly, before landing a mighty punch to the wicked Spellcaster, causing her to shatter.

Blood- 3100 Lp.

"I end my turn with that!" Yusei growled.

" _My turn. Draw!_ " Blood exclaimed. " _I discard one card to Special Summon The Tricky!_ " A strange spellcaster resembling a jester appeared. (2000atk)

" _Now because the monster I discarded was_ _ **Blood Necron**_ _, I can special summon HIM from the graveyard._ " A skeletal figure wearing a business suit appeared. (0atk)

" _I activate the Magic Card Monster Reborn._ " The holy greenish blue ankh appeared, bringing Blood Sorceress back to my field.

" _And now the second effect of Blood Necron...when I special summon a monster from the grave, I am permitted to draw three cards, but skip my next two standby phase._ " He picked up three cards from his deck.

" _Yusei Fudo...Prepare to experience a terror and power like none other..._ " He held one card up high. " _I sacrifice Blood Sorceress, Blood Necron, and The Tricky in order to summon the almighty..._ _ **SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!**_ "

"What did you say!?" Yusei cried as Blood's monsters vanished.

Lightning thundered in the sky as a bolt crashed into the ground, as a mighty beast took shape. It was an enormous serpentine dragon with a red upperbody, and a black underbelly. On it's face was perched a second mouth on it's jaws. Powerful claws bordered either side of it's midsection as it flew after the Duel Runner and the strange horse on large wings.

"The...God Card..." Yusei muttered as the beast gave a growl.

" _This is it_!" Blood declared. " _The beast I shall use to exterminate imperfection! Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack points correspond to the number of cards in my hand multiplied by 1000...furthermore, whenever you Summon a Monster, he will blast away 2000 of it's attack or defense points, depending on it's battle mode._ "

Yusei grimaced. "You have four cards in hand, so that means he has...4000 attack points."

" _Indeed...Slifer! Destroy Junk Warrior with Thunder Force!_ " The dragon opened it's lower mouth, and fired a beam of holy electric energy.

"I activate-" Yusei began, however his Scrap Iron Scarecrow card was ripped apart. He looked to see his pursuer hold up a copy of Mystical Space Typhoon. 'His face down!'

The electric blast vaporized Junk Warrior, not leaving a trace.

"WAAAA!" Yusei screamed as the shockwave blew his Duel Runner out of control. His Life dropped to zero.

The Runner flipped over as Yusei himself skidded against hard ground.

Blood's horse stopped right next to him.

" _What a shameful end for a noble servant of the Crimson Dragon..._ " He mused.

"Shut up-!" Yusei snapped, still lying on the ground. "You...you destroyed New Domino! You killed so many innocents, including my friend Crow!...And above all...why...why do you have **his** face!?"

Blood paused for a moment as an chilling breeze blew by. He brought his hands to his hood and lowered it.

He smirked as Yusei glared with hatred. Staring back at him was none other than the precise visage of Yami Yugi!

"Oh? _This_? Nya-ha-ha-ha-ha!" He laughed with madness as he cast away his cloak, and dropped down from the horse. His boots touched the ground as Yusei got a full view of his clothing. Sure enough it was an exact replica of the old Domino City school uniform, only the coat and pants were a deep red, his shirt was white, and his boots were brown. On his neck was a copy of the Millenium Puzzle, only it appeared to be made of pure obsidian, with a red Eye of Wdjat.

"You lost our duel, Yusei Fudo...Now suffer eternal damnation in the shadows!" He held his hand out, as a malignant black energy appeared to emanate from him.

Yusei expected the worst, closing his eyes. ' _Everyone...forgive me._ ' As the feeling of death came over him, he heard one voice.

"Giving up already, Yusei?" The former Signer opened his eyes with shock as two Duel Runners came into view. The white blur of the Phoenix Whirlwind blazed past him and circled back around, as the dark cherry red Bloody Kiss flanked Blood's Duel Horse.

A feminine voice pierced the air as it's rider held up a pair of white-framed cards. "I summon Queen of Thorns and Splendid Rose!" She placed them on her Runner's Disk, and two plants with the appearance of women appeared, one being brown and covered in thorns, and the other being green and slender with rose vines being used as whip like weapons.

Blood scowled. "I don't like big crowds." His copper Duel Disk/Diadhank hybrid extended again, as he placed another card on it. A spectral red figure rose behind him, clearly another Spellcaster.

"Die, Akiza Izinski." He said as the Spellcaster aimed a wand at Akiza directly, causing her Queen of Thorns to take the hit and disperse.

"I still have Splendid Rose!" Akiza called. The other plant-girl charged in with her whips. "Jack! Get Yusei out of here! I'll hold him off!"

"No, Akiza! We can't leave you behind!" Yusei cried.

"Don't worry about me!" She said, winking. "I can handle myself."

"For how long, I wonder?" Blood said as he raised his Disk up high. "Come before me and punish these disgusting mortals...Obelisk the Tormentor!" Another bolt of lightning crashed behind him, as a goliath with hard blue hide, and a crown of spikes appeared. It raised it's mighty arms with a roar.

"Not good!" Jack exclaimed.

"Fist of Fate!" Blood declared as his monster drew one of it's arms back.

Yusei could only watch in horror...and pray.

As the huge fist came upon them, they heard a powerful roar in the distance.

" _Shreeeeee!_ "

The three of them gasped as Blood grunted. In the sky, a serpentine dragon seemingly made of blazing flame manifested in the distance.

"No...it can't be!"

"That's the Crimson Dragon!" Akiza gasped. "What is he doing here!?"

The majestic dragon roared again, sending shockwaves throughout the destroyed city. Obelisk could only shield himself the best he could, but he didn't last long. He shattered in moments.

Blood looked down at the three former Signers before him, who all had started glowing with an unusual red aura. "I thought you three had lost your marks!"

"We did." Yusei said, looking on in awe before glaring at him. "But it looks like the Crimson Dragon hasn't abandoned us."

Akiza and Jack both turned to the side as Yusei vanished before their eyes. Soon, they looked at their hands as they too had begun to disappear.

Blood growled. "NO!" His phantom Spellcaster aimed his staff again, blasting a bolt of black magic energy at them, however it never hit as they vanished at the last moment.

It was all gone, their bodies, their clothes...even their Duel Runners.

The man bearing Atem's face growled again before scoffing. "Yusei Fudo...Akiza Izinski...Jack Atlas...I'll hunt you down...and kill you."

 **0**

The moon shines brightly over a small city at night. Few houses were lit as most people would be resting from a long day.

A young man with blond hair, wearing a green jacket and jeans walks around a park, humming a tune to himself. "Man, I really ought to check up on the gang. It's been a two whole months since graduation...Sure, I'm on my way to the Pro-Dueling Circuit, but it seems things are getting a bit lonlier...

"I sound like a fruitcake, talkin' to myself."

The blond boy took a deck of Duel Monsters cards from his pocket. "But how far will I get with cards like these? Everyone's really boosted up their decks, but I've kept the same deck for a while now..." He looked through the cards, the prize being an obsidian scaled Western-Style Dragon with glaring scarlet eyes.

He smiled.

"Nah...I don't need anything different. 'Cuz Joey Wheeler's a champ just the way he...what the heck!?"

An intense white light filled the area, forcing him to shield his eyes. "What's goin' on!" The sound of large machinery hitting the ground forced him to jump back as what felt like a person's skull hit his foot.

The light had died down, but what had now appeared overtook his mind. Three unconscious individuals, two young men and one young woman, all wearing strange outfits had somehow manifested onto the scene.

What really stood out to him was the three freaky vehicles that also appeared, one resembling a huge wheel. "What the heck?" He ran up to the unconsious person with wild dual-toned hair. "Hey! Hey! You alright? C'mon, man! Wake up!

"Aww man! I better call somebody!" He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialed an ambulance. After he was told that they'd be there soon, a wayward card took his eye.

"What's this? A Duel Monstahs card?" Joey picked it up and drew back at the sight. It was a strange white framed card but it was completely blank! No description, no name, no card image.

"It's...blank? I've never seen a blank card before...what am I doing? This isn't the time for this!" He put the card into his deck case and waited for the ambulance, watching the three unconscious strangers with a wary eye.

 **0**

 **Card Index**

 **Allied Cavalry**

 **Normal Trap Card**

 **When a Warrior-Type Monster you control is destroyed by battle, pay 500 Life Points; Special Summon one Level 4 Spellcaster-Type Monster from your deck.**

 **Blood Sorceress**

 **Level 6/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect/2000atk/1700def**

 **When this card destroys a Monster by battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the number of cards in your hand x 300.**

 **Blood Necron**

 **Level 2/DARK/Zombie/Effect/0atk/0def**

 **When this card is discarded from your hand, special summon it. When you special summon a monster from your graveyard, draw three cards, but skip your next two draw phases.**

 **0**

 **After a showdown with an entity known as Blood that shares the face of the Pharaoh, Yusei, Akiza, and Jack are sent to the past by the Crimson Dragon, but are left sleeping in a park watched over by a bewildered Joey Wheeler. Are they safe from Blood's rampage, or will he hunt them down even to the past? And what is the mysterious blank card that Joey found? Will it provide the answers?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I suppose a little context is in order, since it didn't save my summary. This is a crossover of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters with Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds, as you can tell. So here's the time frame. The DM time period shown takes place after the events of** _ **The Dark Side of Dimensions**_ **, but treating it as if it were an anime event, rather than a manga one. The 5ds characters are taken from a time after their series, between the development of Fortune and the timeskip showing where everyone(save for Yusei) is after the events. However with the liberty of Akiza retaining her Psychic Duelist abilities.**

 **A guest user asked me why Obelisk the Tormentor would be defeated by the Crimson Dragon, so here's a little insight. First of all, it was a** _ **Ka**_ **battle of sorts, and i'm using a system similar to Yu-Gi-Oh R's Divine Scale. Here's how I rate it.**

 **God Cards(Egyptian, Wicked, Nordic) are the first two of five "Tiers"**

 **Tier 1: Obelisk the Tormentor, Slifer the Sky Dragon, The Wicked Eraser, the Wicked Dreadroot, Thor/Loki, Lord of the Aesir**

 **Tier 2: The Winged Dragon of Ra, The Wicked Avatar, Odin, Father of the Aesir**

 **Tier 3: Atem, Don Thousand(See ZEXAL)**

 **Tier 4: Crimson Dragon, Red Nova**

 **Tier 5: Horakthy the Creator God of Light, Zorc Necrophades**

 **The "Tiers" represents their level of power in concrete terms, rather than Duel Monsters terms.**

 **As for Blood, his story will be revealed as the story goes on. Speaking of, let's resume this little tale.**

 **0**

He didn't know what was happening as he lay unconsious. All he remembered was his duel with the Yami Yugi look alike, that was actually capable of summoning the Egyptian Gods which had been missing for years. The roar of the red and black dragon thundered to his ears as the bolt of holy energy hit his Junk Warrior, destroying him and causing his Duel Runner to swing wildly.

Then his friends came to his side and the Crimson Dragon appeared. Lastly all he remembered was the light engulfing him, and his consciousness fading.

" _Hey! Hey!_ " A voice echoed in his head.

Yusei found himself in a foggy void. All that he saw was the messy familiar orange hair.

"Crow?" He asked. "I...is that you?"

Crow turned around, but for the first time, Yusei screamed in fright.

" _Yusei...help me!_ " His friend Crow, was a wretched sight...his arms were broken, one twisted in a frightening position, one of his legs was missing, and the other had the rank smell of rotting flesh. His face itself was like that of a skull with eyeballs, with bits of his face left over.

The sound of boots pervaded the area, each step louder and closer. Another familiar voice spoke. "Your time has come..."

Behind Crow, a massive golden figure appeared-A cross of bird, and dragon with a vaguely metal appearance.

"GOD PHOENIX!" The beast erupted into flames, transforming into a phoenix, and engulfed the entirety of the void with it's fire.

"CROW!" Yusei screamed as his already mangled friend was burned alive until not even ashes remained. The former signer's eyes twitched in terror as the deep, throaty laughter filled the area.

 **0**

"Gah!" Yusei woke up, drenched in musky sweat, swinging his arms about wildly. He panted like a man that had just ran a marathon to escape a monster. However, much to his confusion, there were no flames, no Crow, and no taunting laughter.

Instead, he was in a bright hospital room, alone apparently. He was still in his ordinary outfit, rather than a hospital gown, which puzzled him slightly.

Yusei's eyes turned to the door as it opened. A nurse, a doctor, and a guy with blond hair and a green coat came into the room.

"You're awake." The doctor said. "That's good. We couldn't exactly find anything wrong, but we thought we'd keep you under examination for good measure."

Yusei's mind came back to him. "Where's my-"

"Your...motorcycle...is being held by good hands. After we've completed your evaluation for release, it'll be returned." The doctor continued. "Wierd looking bike too."

"Where...is it?" Yusei asked, almost venomously.

The blond guy placed a hand on his shoulder. "Never mind that, dude! Like the doc said, it'll be given back to ya."

Yusei glared at him. "What!? I'm just telling you plainly. Sheesh!"

"Where are my friends?" He asked. "A blond haired guy wearing a white coat and a red-head with a red riding suit."

"They're here too." The nurse added. "Though they woke up some time ago."

"Could I see them?" Yusei asked.

"Sure." The doctor replied. "Follow me, they're in the waiting room."

Yusei nodded and proceeded to follow the doctor, but the blond fellow put a hand on his shoulder. "Before I forget, can I ask you something?" He pulled a white framed card out of his coat pocket. "Is this yours?"

Yusei looked over it, but he raised his eyebrow. ' _A blank card? Haven't seen one of those in a while..._ ' "No."

"Ah okay then, nevah mind." He put the card back into his pocket before extending his hand. "I'm Joey Wheeler by the way. Nice ta meet ya."

"Yusei Fudo. Likewise." He shook Joey's hand.

 **0**

The four of them walked into a waiting room, being greeted by Jack and Akiza. Jack was wearing his standard white-jacketed outfit, but Akiza was wearing a white shirt with long gray sleeves reaching her wrists, as well as a pair of blue jeans.

"Yusei!" Akiza said. "You're okay."

"Seems like it."

"They told us that...Joey...found us unconsious in a park last night." Jack said.

Yusei turned to Joey. "Oh right. Thanks."

"Eh don't mention it."

"Well, the three of you seem to have made a complete recovery, so I'll just go sign your release papers." The doctor mused, as he and the nurse left the room.

Joey watched him walk off. "So, where did you guys come from?"

"Pardon?" Yusei asked.

"I was walkin' in that park all alone last night, and there was this big flash of light. Then all of a sudden one a' yooze hits my shoe face first and I see you three past out, and with those wierd bikes you had. So I'll ask again, who are you, and where did you come from?" Joey continued. "Because I've seen my share of weird stuff to know that if people appear outta nowhere that there's gotta be some kind of reason that they appear."

Yusei was about to do his best to answer, but Jack covered his mouth. "It was just your imagination."

"Bull." Joey snorted.

Akiza called for a huddle, causing Yusei and Jack to huddle up with her, as Joey stood back confused.

"Yusei, do you notice something strange?"

"Nothing is strange these days, Akiza." He replied.

"Look at this medical tech! It's archaic! Satellite had better medicine than this hospital before it integrated." Jack growled. "Besides, I've heard of Joey Wheeler. He was a professional duelist in the days of Old Domino City. And he looks too young to be of our time."

Yusei hit a revelation. "Th...the Crimson Dragon sent us to the past to protect us from Blood..."

"That's right." Akiza said. "So we can't tell him anything big from our time. We can't even let him see Tuner or Synchro Monster cards. It would be disasterous..."

"But when I dueled Paradox, I fought him with Jaden Yuki and..." Yusei paused, remembering the face of the man that Blood had. " _Him..._ and nothing happened to destabilize the timeline."

"Maybe they just didn't tell anyone." Jack said. "But under _no circumstances_ can we tell Wheeler about our time."

" _HEY_!" Joey shouted. "Are you gonna let me in on the conversation, or am I gonna have to let myself in?" He latched a sleek blue and white Duel Disk to his arm. "Are any of you duelists? If you are, then duel me and if I win, you tell me EVERYTHING."

Yusei smirked. He seldom refused a challenge from anyone. As he was about to say "deal," a voice interrupted him.

"Accepted."

Yusei and Jack turned to Akiza. "What are you doing, Akiza?" Yusei asked.

"Yusei, your deck is almost all about Synchro Summoning." She whispered quitely. "And Jack, you tend to make mistakes when you're flustered. Let me handle this. I spent a while making a non-Synchro deck that suits this situation."

Yusei nodded, masking his nervousness. "Okay. Just don't lose."

Akiza looked in his eyes. "I won't." She planted a kiss on his lips. Jack and Yusei's eyes widened at her actions as she walked away. "Okay, Mr. Wheeler. Game on!" She grabbed her Duel Disk and latched it to her wrist.

After the doctor signed the three former Signer's release papers, the red-headed Plant-user and the King of Luck stood across from each other a few yards apart. Joey shuffled his deck and holstered it. His opponent's Disk autoshuffled, much to his surprise.

"Whoa, neato!"

"I guess it is." She added. "Shall we?"

"Sure." Joey said. "Oh wait, can't forget this." He fumbled around in his pocket, until he pulled out a strange eye piece and put it on his left eye. "Okay, now then..."

"Let's duel!"

Akiza-4000 Lp.

Joey-4000 Lp.

"My turn first." Akiza began, drawing six cards. "I summon Evil Thorn in attack mode!" A small vine carrying a grenade-like pod covered with thorns appeared. (100atk)

"And now I'll use it's special ability! I can ditch him to deal you 300 points of damage and summon two more Evil Thorns to the field!"

"Are you serious!?" Joey shouted as the pod exploded, shooting thorns at him. His Life fell to 3700 as two more of the Plants appeared. (100atkx2)

"I'll play two cards face down and end my turn."

"Alright, my move." Joey said, drawing a card and smiling. "You forget how weak those monstahs are! So I summon Battle Warrior to take 'em out!" A musclebound warrior with blue skin wearing a fighting mask of sorts with spiked knuckles lept onto the field and struck a pose before charging in at one of Akiza's Plants. (700atk)

"You'll have to do better than that!" Akiza shouted. "I activate my Quickplay Spell! Go, Rush Recklessly!" One of her reversed cards flipped up, bearing the image of a raging boar. "This gives the Evil Thorn you're attacking a seven-hundred attack point boost!" The Plant Battle Warrior was about to hit sprouted up before slamming the pod it carried into him, causing him to shatter.

Joey-3900 Lp.

' _Aww man...now she's just gonna sacrifice those two weeds for a stronger monstah_!" "I'll toss two face down cards and end my turn!" Two reversed cards appeared in front of him.

"Then it's my turn again. Draw." Akiza said. "Because I control at least two Plant-Type Monsters, I special summon Cosmos from my hand." A strange cross between flower and space-craft appeared on her field, bearing resemblance to a large mechanical rose. (600atk)

"But now, I'll release-ERR-sacrifice an Evil Thorn..." One of the two pod plants disappeared in light. "To summon Gigaplant!"A humungous bestial plant with a giant toothy maw as well as scythe-like protrusions and vines appeared. (2400atk)

Joey eyed his two face downs cautiously. ' _I hope this combo works..._ '

"Now, Gigaplant! Attack Joey's Life Points directly!" The monstrous Plant gave an unearthly roar before slashing at Joey, however, he was quick to flip one of his face downs.

"I use A Hero Emerges!" A trap bearing Zombyra the Dark striking a pose appeared. Joey held out his hand, backings to Akiza. "Now, pick a card!"

"Huh?" Akiza asked.

"This card lets you pick a card from my hand, and if it's a monstah, I can summon it! But if it's not, it goes to the graveyard..."

"Okay, fine." Akiza pointed to the second card from his thumb. Joey smirked.

"Nice choice...'cuz now I can summon Swordsman of Landstar!" A goofy looking swordsman appeared, brandishing a sword with a stubby blade. (500atk)

"And what was the point of that? Gigaplant attacks your Swordsman!"

"Then it's time for my other Trap!" His other card flipped up, and a tiny vampire appeared, carrying a giant red six-sided die. "Skull Dice! That die's gonna roll, and whatever the result is gets divided from your Gigaplant's attack points!"

The vampire threw the die, causing it to roll. "Come on, five or a six!" Joey shouted. Unfortunately, it landed on 3. Gigaplant shrank substantially, but it's attack points didn't fall low enough for Swordsman of Landstar to defeat it. (2400-800atk) The mutant Plant slashed the sword wielding fairy in two.

Joey grimaced as his Life Points fell to 3600.

"Now Cosmos attacks you directly." Akiza continued. The Plant-Machine hybrid launched missiles from it's flanks, striking Joey's Life Points to 3000. Following up, she turned one of her monster cards sideways on her Duel Disk. "To end my turn, I switch Evil Thorn to defense mode." The pod plant curled up. (300def)

Joey groaned before drawing his next card. "I use Pot of Greed." Taking two more cards from his Disk, he glanced at one. "I play one more card and one monstah face down." Two reversed cards-one sideways appeared in front of him. "Your move."

"Things seem to be going my way." Akiza picked up her next card and grinned. "I sacrifice my final Evil Thorn and Cosmos for this!" A humanoid rose sprouted, with a single bulb serving for a face with a crocodillian mouth in the center. Two arm-like extensions flanked either side of it's body and roots served for legs. A crimson cape flowed behind it as it knelt in defensive stance. "Regenerating Rose!" (1500def)

"Gigaplant attack his face down monster!" The scythed plant charged at Joey's face down monster, but it flipped up, revealing a figure resembling a mixture of a tree and vase. It shattered at the Plant's touch.

"Booyah!" Joey shouted. "That was a Fiber Jar! Now we stack all the cards from our hand, field, and graveyard, and shuffle them into our decks! Then we pick up five more cards from our decks!"

Akiza's plants and face down disappeared. "Seriously?"

Joey was already shuffling his cards together. "Yup!"

"Spectacular." Jack grumbled from the side. "Now it's like they're starting all over again."

After Akiza and Joey drew their new hands, Akiza set one more card on the field. "Your turn..."

"I draw!" Joey said. "Go, Alligator's Sword!" A reptillian warrior carrying a sword appeared. "Attack!" The anthropomorphic alligator charged and slashed the girl with his weapon. Akiza wailed as her Life fell to 2500.

"Trap Card activate!" She yelled. "Damage Condenser!" She threw one card from her hand into her graveslot and another one poked out from her deck. "I can summon a monster with attack points equal to or less than that damage!" With a growl, Lord Poison, a sickly black plant with blue veins and giant thorns all over his body appeared. (1500atk)

Joey groaned. He remembered that from one of Marik's duels. "Didn't think I'd see _his_ ugly mug again...I'll throw another facedown and end my turn."

"Draw!" Akiza growled. "I return Lord Poison to my hand to special summon Fallen Angel of Roses!" The ugly plant disappeared and was replaced by a coldly beautiful woman with dark purple wings and hair, wearing a VERY short skirt, and carrying a barbed whip. (2400atk)

"Attack that Alligator's Sword!" The fallen angel cracked her whip, shattering Joey's gator. His Life Points fell to 2100.

"Your turn."

Joey drew his next card. "Pretty neat move, but I won't lose that easily!" Joey smirked. ' _This'll rot away her plants_ _but first..._ ' He placed a card on his Disk and a cute, small, orange scaled dragon appeared. (1200atk)

"What is he doing summoning THAT!?" Jack shouted.

"Now get ready for this! I'll use the Double Summon Magic Card to play Time Wizard!" A clock dressed up like a magician appeared. (500atk)

"Wait a minute...I remember that!" Yusei shouted.

"So you know what he can do, huh?" Joey asked. "Alright Time Wizard, work your magic! Time Roulette!"

Akiza, who had never seen the card before watched as one of the hands on the clock inside Time Wizard's staff started to turn. "So what does this do?"

"Basically if it lands on a skull, my monstahs hit the road and I take damage equal to half their total attack points, but if it lands on a castle, all _your_ monstahs turn to dust!" He replied. "Plus another fun surprise!"

The pointer kept on turning until it landed on a castle. "Aha!"

" _Time Magic!_ " Time Wizard said, as time began to flow at an unbelieveable rate, causing Fallen Angel of Roses to wither away into an old hag, before turning to dust.

"Fallen Angel of Roses!" Akiza shouted.

"Akiza look!" Yusei said, pointing at Joey's field, causing her to turn her head, and leaving her jaw wide open. Where Baby Dragon once sat, a much older, wizened dragon stood, labouring to breath. (2400atk)

"Say hello to Thousand Dragon!" Joey said.

Akiza frowned before placing another monster on her Disk's Monster Zone. Lord Poison reappeared before her, arms crossed. (1000def) She waved her hand, signaling the end phase.

Joey drew again. "I summon Axe Raider!" A bronze-skinned warrior wielding a golden axe appeared. (1700atk) "Thousand Dragon, destroy Lord Poison with Noxious Nostril Gust!"

The dragon drew it's head back, but rather than spewing fire, it expelled a huge gust of flame from it's nostrils! Lord Poison was blown away.

"Gross!" Akiza intoned. "But I can use his effect to special summon a Plant from my graveyard." The purple-winged angel reappeared, carrying her whip.

"Dang it..." Joey said. "I'll place one more face down card and end my turn."

"Fine then. This duel's just about done..." The red-head said, but as soon as she drew her next card, she thought she felt a tingling sensation in her arm, but thought it best to ignore it.

 **0**

As the duel progressed, a car being driven by a famous young man(who was being pulled over almost non-stop ever since he got his license, being mistaken for a child because of his short stature) drove by but stopped. He brushed the spiky golden locks out of his eyes. "Is that...Joey? Why is he dueling at a hospital?" He turned and parked in the nearest available spot and got out.

Yugi Muto walked into the green by the hospital(usually reserved for golf games when the doctors weren't working) and squinted. "Who is that he's dueling?"

 **0**

"I have to say, Joey!" Akiza said. "This has been a very exciting duel! But this is where it ends. I summon Ferocious Flora!" Another strange Plant appeared, with a strange cactus-like adornment on top bordered by tubes. (1000atk)

"Where is she getting all these wierd new Plant monsters?" Jack asked Yusei.

"Heck if I know."

"Fallen Angel of Roses attack Thousand Dragon!"

"But their attack points are even! They'll destroy each other!" Joey said.

"Not if Ferocious Flora has anything to say about it." Akiza continued. "If a Plant-Type Monster I control battles an opponent's monster, _your_ monster loses 800 attack points!"

The alien-like Plant glowed with light and emitted lasers from it's strange tubes that struck Thousand Dragon all over, causing him to hunch over weakly. (2400-1600atk) Then, Fallen Angel of Roses smirked before lashing him with her whip, shattering him into pixels.

Joey's Life Points dove to 1300. "This is bad..."

"Your turn..."

Joey drew again. This time, he drew a new card that he had never used before, one that Yugi had him add on request.

"Hey...I activate Graceful Charity!" He threw the card onto his disk. "Now I can draw three cards at the cost of discarding two!"

He quickly drew three cards and dumped two others into his graveyard.

"Perfect! Get ready, 'cuz you're goin' down! I use Polymerization! This Magic Card'll let me combine my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!-" The obsidian scaled dragon appeared next to him with a shriek. "With Versago the Destroyah!" Summoned Skull was a pretty rare card, so in lieu of trading Joey his, Yugi gave him Versago the Destroyer to improve his Fusion capabilities. The Fusion Substitute Monster appeared with purple aura, swathed in vines.

The dragon and the fiend swirled together into a vortex. "Show 'em what you got! Black Skull Dragon!" From the vortex appeared a muscular demonic dragon with curled ram horns. It's joints didn't bear skin, so it's muscular mass was visible. (3200atk)

"Black Skull Dragon attack Ferocious Flora!" The dragon pooled wicked fire in it's maw and launched it at the alien Plant.

Akiza reacted quickly. "I activate the Trap Card Wall of Thorns! Because you're attacking my Plant-Type Monster, this destroys all your monsters!"

"Don't think so!" Joey added. "I'll use my own Trap Card, Trap Jammer!" The card bearing an image of a bear trap dissolving in a mystic circle flipped up. "This negates your Wall of Thorns!"

Ferocious Flora shot more laser beams into Black Skull Dragon, sending it's attack points from 3200 to 2400. This did not stop the fireball from vaporizing it.

"You mean that can use it's ability during my turn?" Joey asked. Akiza nodded. "Cool...alright, it's your move."

"Draw." Akiza said slowly. Then she smiled. "I summon Lonefire Blossom!" A small flower bulb appeared on her field. "And when this little bud is summoned, I can tribute a Plant-type monster and special summon another from my deck!" Lonefire Blossom disappeared, and was replaced by a huge sunflower that bloomed, revealing a beautiful maiden with a crown of the tell-tale plant's petals. "Marinya, Princess of Sunflowers!" (1600def)

"Heh." Joey smirked. "Nice, but I guess all ya can do is defend."

Akiza laid another card in her Duel Disk and another reversed card appeared behind Marinya and Fallen Angel of Roses, who began to kneel in defense.(1300def) "Your move."

"Alright, I draw! And now I'll bust out Blue Flame Swordsman!" A familiar swordsman appeared, only his armor, clothing, sword, and helmet was blue. (1800atk)

"Black Skull Dragon, do what you do best! Molten Fireball!" The demonic dragon expelled another powerful burst of electricity, burning the fallen angel to ashes.

"Bad move." Akiza grinned. "You've activated Princess of Sunflower's special ability!" The royal plant girl waved her hand and struck Black Skull Dragon down with a ray of light.

"What the-!?" Joey exclaimed in confusion.

"When you destroy **one** Plant-Type Monster and nothing else, Marinya can destroy one card you control." Akiza explained.

Joey grumbled. "Blue Flame Swordsman attack!" The swordsman charged Marinya, and cleaved her in twain with a blazing sword.

"Turn end."

Akiza drew her next card. She was running on empty, not being able to use Tuners and Synchros. Still, that wasn't enough to keep her down.

"I activate the Equip Spell, Mark of the Rose." A card depicting Vampire Lord with a rose like mark on his cheek appeared. "Now I can remove from play a Plant-Type Monster to take control of a monster you control, during MY turns only." A spectral image of Cosmos appeared as a mark appeared on Blue Flame Swordsman as he staggered over to Akiza's field.

"Joey!" Yugi shouted, earning Joey's attention, as well as Yusei and Jack.

The shooting star of Satellite could hardly believe his eyes...but right now, his mind stirred trauma of recent times. He only saw _him_. Many emotions arose in Yusei. Fear. Confusion, and then, _hatred_.

"Blue Flame Swordsman attack his Life Points and end this duel!" As the sword made impact on Joey, Yusei threw himself at Yugi.

"YOU! You heartless, evil monster!" Before the tri-toned haired duelist could react, Yusei landed a punch to his face.

"Bah!" Yugi coughed.

"This is for Crow! And Leo! And Luna! And Sherry! And Everyone!" Yusei shouted, landing another blow with every last name, until Jack restrained him.

"Yusei! Yusei, get ahold of yourself!"

The former Signer wrestled with the former King of Turbo Duels for a minute, until he had realized what he'd done. Lying before him on the ground with a bruised face was none other than Yugi Muto himself. Not Blood. Not the monster that decimated humanity.

He didn't know what to say or do. He collapsed on his knees, and for one of the few times in his life, Yusei Fudo buried his face in his hands and wept.

Joey recovered as his duel ended. "Is that-Yugi!?" He ran over to the scene before grabbing Yusei by the collar. "What did you do, you thug!?"

Yusei couldn't muster any words. Neither could Jack and Akiza. All they did was wait for Yugi to wake up so that apologies and exclamations could be made.

 **Geez, things got pretty violent. Don't worry Yusei didn't beat Yugi up too bad, and Joey won't beat Yusei for it either. But how will things be once Yugi wakes up and the three duelists of the future have to explain themselves? And what will happen when Yugi finds out that a powerful enemy that will eventually wipe out the majority of the human race has the Pharaoh's face?**

 **Questions for next chapter.**

 **Until then, please rate and review~!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was a frightening scene, as an omnipresent red veil was spread over New Domino City. No cries. No shouts or screams.

There was only one living entity. Blood. He stood in the center of the old Ener-D reactor. A place thought to be the gateway to the Netherworld. He stood there, over it's violet hued depths, concentrating his mind. He was looking for someone. The three who had escaped his righteous judgement.

The black and red Millenium Puzzle around his neck glowed with evil light as a red Eye of Wdjat appeared on Blood's forehead.

"You cannot hide from me..." The Pharaoh's wicked doppleganger said. "No matter where you are, if you are human you cannot escape me. " He removed the necklace and held it over the pit. "My Obsidian Puzzle will find you. And then, you will suffer divine retribution!"

 **0**

After Yusei knocked Yugi's lights out, the small young man was taken back home to Kame Game, the game shop where he worked/lived with his grandfather Solomon.

Yugi rubbed his face with an ice pack. "Ow...you really got me good didn't you? That was mean. Still..." He looked to the blue and gold-haired former Signer. "I didn't think we'd ever meet again, Yusei."

Yusei frowned, ashamed at himself for mistaking the boy for his newest nemesis. "Sorry."

"I'm sure you had a good reason. Don't worry about it. Joey over there used to beat me up all the time before we became good friends."

Joey smirked. "Yeah, and now we're practically insufferable!"

"You mean 'inseperable?'" Akiza asked.

"That's what I said!" He replied. "Anyway, how exactly do you and Yuse' know each other Yug'?"

Yusei was at a loss for words. He didn't want to jeopardize the timeline, but he saw few ways to explain their situation otherwise. Akiza was quick to jump next to him. "We're all friends of this little guy!"

Yugi looked at the busty red-head and blushed. "Ummm...who are you?"

Akiza slumped to the ground. "Well I tried."

Joey tapped his foot. "I'm waiting..."

Yusei sighed. "We had to come clean eventually." He got up to eye level with Joey. "You can't tell this to anyone. But my friends and I aren't from this time."

"What!?" Joey asked. "Like time travel or something?"

"You don't believe me?"

"Eh...been through weirder. I kinda time travelled a time or two."

"Yusei, what are you doing?" Jack whispered to his rival.

"Don't worry. I won't tell them about Zero Reverse or anything. As bad as it was, we can't do anything to keep it from happening, because that might cause drastic or even crippling changes to the timeline." Yusei answered before speaking aloud again. "We've come from a time period decades in the future. The world has become technologically advanced, even deriving Duel Energy as a source of power. My friends and I used to be sacred guardians called "Signers", bearing a mark of a being called The Crimson Dragon. Together we fought off threats to the world one after another.

"One time, a madman called Paradox wanted to go back in time to erase Duel Monsters from existence, to try and save his timeline, but that would've caused havok on our era because they revolved around the game. So I went back using the Crimson Dragon's power and stopped him. That's where I met Yugi.

"But now we're facing a threat we can't beat. A person called Blood. He can summon REAL monsters and attack with them. And Yugi. As hard as this is to say...he has YOUR face."

"What? He looks like me?" Yugi asked, to which Yusei nodded grimly.

"And...he can summon the Egyptian God Monsters."

Joey and Yugi stared in a stunned stupor. "Did he...come along with you?" Joey asked.

"No." Jack said. "The Crimson Dragon intervened right before we would've been killed by that blue behemoth. It sent us back to your time to keep us safe. But now we're in the past, and we have time to formulate a plan."

Yugi looked down at his feet before lifting his head with a bold expression. "I want to help."

Yusei, Akiza, Jack and even Joey looked at him with wide eyes.

"If he looks like me, then I can't help but feel partially guilty. I can't let him do as he pleases. I want to help you take him down."

"That's brave of you." Akiza said. "But he's our responsibility. Not yours. We have to beat him before he can harm any more innocents."

Yugi looked to Yusei. "Please. Let me help."

Yusei frowned. Until he looked at the desk to the right. A golden box with that same eye symbol he saw on Blood's pendant, but also a large picture of Yugi standing in a group with Joey, as well as some guy with long snow white hair, a young tall young man with hair rising in a point, and a girl wearing a yellow shirt with the word SPIRIT written on it.

' _He's just like me...He wants to protect his friends..._ '

He raised his head. "Yugi...Duel me."

"What?" Yugi asked.

"Duel me. Show me that you have what it takes to hold your own and protect your friends."

The former vessel of the Pharaoh gave a determined glare and nodded.

"But we need to find a secluded area. The cards we REALLY use can't be seen by the public eye, or else the timeline will be drastically changed."

"What are ya talkin' about?" Joey asked. "Ya mean your decks are that advanced?"

"Yes, Joey. We use a Summoning technique that won't be developed for another fifteen years." Yusei replied.

Joey raised his eyebrow. "Now I gotta see 'dis."

 **0**

Lights flicked on in a room containing an old dueling arena. Yugi, Joey, Yusei, Jack and Akiza followed behind a young man wearing a black jacket, with long goth-style hair, wearing a pair of dice earrings.

"I don't know why you guys wanna use this thing," began Duke Devlin. "But since the Black Clown is closed today, feel free to use it."

"Thanks again, Duke." said Yugi.

"No problem. I gotta go run an errand, so see you later."

As Duke left, Yugi and Yusei stood behind either of the dueling terminals.

"Alright...It's time to duel!" declared Yugi, placing his deck onto the table as the two terminals and the four holographic projectors activated.

"Yugi! Show 'em how we duel where it all began!" Joey exclaimed. His friend nodded as he drew five cards.

"You have the first move," said Yusei.

Yusei Fudo- 4000 Lp.

Yugi Muto-4000 Lp.

"It's my turn then. Draw!" Yugi said, taking his sixth card before setting one on the table. "I summon Red Gadget!" A red robot with a giant gear on it's back appeared. 1300atk/1500def. "And now his ability lets me add 'Yellow Gadget' from my deck to my hand."

He leafed through his deck before picking Yellow Gadget out and shuffling.

"That's enough for now."

"Draw!" Yusei said. "I summon Shield Warrior in defense mode!" A warrior carrying a shield and a spear appeared, crouching and defending himself. 800atk/1600def "Now I play a card face down. Turn end."

"Draw!" said Yugi. "I summon Chocolate Magician Girl in attack mode!" He laid the card on the terminal and a cute, tan spellcaster girl with long cerulean hair and batlike wings wearing a pointed witches cap, miniskirt, stockings, knee-high black boots and breastplate, all with heart themes appeared. She carried a small wand that vaguely resembled Dark Magician Girl's mixed with Magician of Black Chaos's. 1600atk/1000def.

"Next I play one facedown and end my turn."

Yusei drew his next card. ' _This duel can't help me gauge his strength...not like this...but with these cards..._ ' He thought.

"I summon Drill Synchron." A wierd spherical machine with drills on it's head as well as four more serving for appendages appeared. (800atk/300def)

"That little thing's kinda funny lookin'." Joey said.

"Let me give you little run-down on this type of card. It's a type of Monster called a 'Tuner'. I can combine him with other Monsters based on their Level Stars."

Yusei took a card from his deck box and took the two Monsters on the table into his graveyard. "So I'll use Drill Synchron to give Shield Warrior a tune-up!"

Drill Synchron turned into three motes of light that became three green rings. The rings encircled Shield Warrior, who became three orbs. Rather than say his usual catchphrase, Yusei put the card on the table as a lightning bolt flashed through the rings and struck each orb.

"I Synchro Summon Drill Warrior!"

A mighty warrior wearing a ragged scarf, with drills for hands and feet, clad in brown armor appeared. (2400atk/2000def)

"WHOA!" Joey shouted. "That's so cool!"

"Drill Warrior is a Level 6 Synchro Monster. It can be formed by using Drill Synchron and one non-Tuner Monster." Yusei described.

"Their total Star Level has to equal that of the Synchro Monster." Jack added, holding up his own Synchro Monster, Exploder Dragonwing. "Firstly, some Synchros like most of Yusei's require a specific Tuner, and some require certain Types of Monster, like my Exploder Dragonwing. It requires a Dragon as the non-Tuner material."

"And some of them don't have any specifics, like this one." Akiza added, holding up a copy of Magical Android(A leftover of her days from the Arcadia Movement.)

"Oh, so it's like a Ritual Summon and a Fusion Summon in one?" asked Joey.

"Basically, only it doesn't require a Spell Card, and both material Monsters have to be on the field."

"Why are you callin' 'em Spell Cards!? They're called Magic Cards!"

"In the future, that's what WE'VE called them for about twenty-five years," said Jack, rolling his eyes.

"Alright! Now I'll use Drill Warrior's special ability," said Yusei. "I can permanently halve his attack points, and during this turn, he can attack you directly!" (2400-1200atk)

"What!?" shouted Yugi.

"Drill Warrior! Attack with Pierce-Drill Impact!" The warrior lunged at Yugi, completely bypassing his Magician Girl and Gadget, to strike him with one of his drill arms.

Yugi-2800 Lp.

"I place one card face down and use Drill Warrior's other ability," Yusei said, discarding one card. "I can banish him by discarding one card and during the next Standby Phase, I can Special Summon him with his attack points at normal.

"It's your move."

"Draw!" Yugi said as Drill Warrior disappeared. He looked at the card he had drawn. ' _Summoned Skull...He's probably going to summon that monster so he can attack_ me _again. This is my chance to deal some damage._ ' "I sacrifice Green Gadget-" The Machine disappeared. "For Summoned Skull!" The horned skull Fiend appeared. (2500atk/1200def)

"Summoned Skull attack Yusei directly! Lightning Strike!" The fiend channeled lightning in it's claws and horns, before shooting bolts of electricity at him.

Yusei was quick to react-he flipped a card on his terminal, and a scarecrow made of scrap metal appeared, absorbing the attack like a lightning rod. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! This negates the attack and flips back down to stop a future attack." The scarecrow disappeared as it's owner flipped it's card back over.

"But I bet you can't do that twice in one turn!" Yugi shouted. "Chocolate Magician Girl attack!" The cute magician aimed her wand at Yusei, shooting a ball of eldritch power at him. Yusei groaned as the blast hit him. Apparently some of his wounds from his duel with Blood were still fresh.

Yusei-2400 Lp.

"Are you okay?"

Yusei held his side and shrugged it off. "Don't worry about it. Keep it up."

Yugi raised his eyebrow. "Turn end."

Yusei made a draw and Drill Warrior reappeared. "When my Warrior respawns, I can recover a Monster from my graveyard." He took Drill Synchron from his grave stack and added to his hand.

Yusei eyed the card in his hand. It was one he didn't care to use, because simple destruction cards weren't his style. But since Blood emerged, he didn't want to take any chances.

"I activate Hammer Shot, which destroys your most powerful monster." A wall of invisible force slammed into Summoned Skull, blasting him apart.

"Now I sacrifice Drill Warrior-" The Synchro Monster disappeared. "For Turret Warrior!" A tall warrior with gun turrets on his arms and shoulders appeared. (1200atk/2000def)

"Why would he do that?" asked Yugi.

"Because when Turret Warrior is Advance Summoned by using a Warrior-Type Monster, he gains half that Warrior's attack points!"

1200-2400atk.

"But...that's the same as Drill Warrior..."

To the side, Akiza took notice of this. "I think Yusei might be out of it...He'd never make such a sloppy move..."

"Turret Warrior attacks Green Gadget." Yusei continued, causing his monster to unleash release a barrage of munitions at the small robot.

Yugi-1400 Lp.

"That's not bad..." said Yugi. "But I can still go."

"Then it's your move."

"Draw!" Yugi put this new card on his disk. "I summon Berry Magician GIrl!" With a flash of pink light, a cute female sorcerer that resembled a toddler in pink overalls and a green onesie with a pink pointed hat, carrying a pink wand. She had pink hair in a cowlick with a pair of locks framing her face, and a pair of pixie wings on her back. 400atk/400def "And when she's summoned, I can add another Magician Girl card from my deck to my hand." He leafed through his cards, and picked the one he wanted.

"I end my turn."

"Why would a kid called the King of Games make such a careless mistake!" gasped Jack. "If Yusei attacks that little girl, he'll lose!"

Joey smirked. "Trust me. 'Dis is one'a Yugi's new tricks."

"I draw one card." said Yusei. "Turret Warrior attacks Berry Magician Girl."

The gun-turret laiden warrior unloaded again, aimed at the young spellcaster.

"You've activated Berry's other ability." Yugi began. "I can switch her to battle mode and special summon another Magician Girl from my deck!" The little girl panicked and waved her wand, opening a yellow spiralling portal.

A new spellcaster stepped out-A girl wearing yellow armor with grey shorts. She had exotic skin, with radiant blond hair, a pair of Level Star earrings, and a more pointed hat than the others. She also had larger pixie-like wings. 800atk/600def.

"Meet Lemon Magician Girl."

Yusei frowned. "Turret Warrior attacks her then." The Warrior changed his target and opened fire.

"Sorry to interrupt you again, but now Lemon's effect activates!" He slapped another card on the terminal, and in a flurry of hearts, the beautiful form of Dark Magician Girl appeared. 2000atk/1700def.

"Where did she come from?"

"When Lemon Magician Girl is targeted for an attack, I can Special Summon another Spellcaster Monster from my hand, and switch the attack target to that card. Also the attacking monster's attack points are halved."

The golden magician girl shot Turret Warrior with a bolt of yellow magic, causing him to stumble backwards, before the eldest of the Magician Girls struck him down with blast of dark magic.

Yusei-1600 Lp.

Joey pumped his fist. "Alright Yug'!"

"Wow...such a well-knit strategy," said Akiza. "And now if Yusei can't protect himself..."

"I summon Shield Wing in defense mode." A strange green bird appeared. (0atk/900def) "Turn end."

Yugi drew his next card and smiled. "I sacrifice Berry and Lemon Magician Girls-" the two female mages disappeared. "For Dark Magician!" In a flash of purple light, a black and silver armored and robed magician appeared, elegantly twirling his staff with one hand. (2500atk/2100def)

"Yusei. It was a fun duel. Destroy Shield Wing with Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician opened it's palm and fired a burst of dark energy at the odd bird, only for it to bounce off, causing it to skid back a bit.

"What?" Yugi inquired.

"My Shield Wing can survive up to two attacks per turn." Yusei noted. "And note that I still have Scrap-Iron Scarecrow facedown."

Yugi groaned, looking at the two cards in his hand-Red Gadget and Big Shield Gardna. Neither could alleviate the problem. "Fine." He smiled. "Looks like this duel's not done then."

"And it's my move!" Yusei announced, drawing again. He looked at his own hand before glancing at Dark Magician. Something about the monster's presence made him want to continue, even though he knew Yugi's strength now. He felt something inside him. At first, Yusei placed a hand on his left arm, before removing it.

' _No. The Crimson Dragon took the marks away. This... Is my fight._ ' He thought.

"I activate Foolish Burial. This card lets me send a monster from my deck to the scrap-heap." He took the card-Speed Warrior-and placed it on his graveyard stack.

"And now I summon...Junk Synchron!" The cute orange robot with a motor on his back appeared. (1300atk/700def) "And his ability lets me special summon a Level 2 monster like Speed Warrior from my graveyard!" The grey armored warrior leapt from a grave portal. (900atk/400def)

"I remember Junk Synchron from our duel with Paradox!" chuckled Yugi. "I'm ready! Bring out your next Synchro Monster!"

"You want it? You got it!" Yusei said. "Level 3 Junk Synchron tunes Level 2 Shield Wing!" The Tuner Monster pulled the cord on his back's motor, causing him to turn into three rings of light that encircled Shield Wing, who turned into two green motes of light.

Taking the next card from his Extra Deck, Yusei laid it on the field. "Let's..." He began halfheartedly before looking at his opponent's field and seeing Dark Magician's determined glare. Yusei was filled with confidence, a warm sensation permeated through him. "Let's rev it up! I Synchro Summon Junk Warrior!"

In a flash of light, a mighty blue warrior assembled from pieces of metal, with large jet-like wings, and a jet pack on his back appeared. (2300atk/1700def)

"When Junk Warrior is Synchro Summoned, he gains attack points equal to the combined attack points of all Level 2 or lower monsters I control."

Speed Warrior radiated power and transferred it to Junk Warrior. 2300-3100atk.

Yugi saw the monster and marvelled at it's appearance. "How cool..."

Yusei pointed at Yugi. "This is the monster that most symbolizes me! Junk Warrior! Attack Dark Magician with Scrap-Iron Fist!"

Junk Warrior's jetpack ignited, as he prepared to crash into the black armored wizard, socking him in the stomach. He groaned before shattering.

Yugi-800 Lp.

"It's your move."

"Impressive, Yusei, but I won't lose!" said Yugi, drawing again. "I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards." He made two more draws. "Okay! Now I summon Gold Gadget!" A golden robot that seemed like a gear would fit inside it appeared. A light shone from it's center. (1700atk/800def)

"And when Gold Gadget is Normal Summoned, I can special summon another Gadget from my hand. Go, Silver Gadget!" A silver robot that seemed like it was meant to fit inside something appeared. (1500atk/1000def)

"Plus, he has the same effect as Gold Gadget!" With a slap of the card on the terminal, Red Gadget appeared. (1300atk/1500def)

"And now, he'll let you add **Yellow** Gadget to your hand." Yusei said.

"Yup!" replied Yugi, already shuffling his deck, before switching Dark Magician Girl and Chocolate Magician Girl to defense mode. "Your turn!"

"I draw!" Yusei shouted, before smiling at his new card. "Synchro Blast Wave!" He held up a Spell that depicting Junk Warrior in the pose that he appeared in when he was Synchro Summoned. "Because I have a Synchro Monster out, I can destroy one monster you control!"

The card emitted a wavelength that passed through Junk Warrior before becoming a bolt of lightning that struck Dark Magician Girl. With a pained wail, she shattered.

"Alright Junk Warrior! Attack Chocolate Magician Girl! Scrap-Iron Fist!" Junk Warrior charged at the blue-armored magician, plowing right through her.

"I set one card and end my turn," said Yusei.

Yugi smiled, drawing a card. "Well Yusei. Looks like this duel's just about over. First I'll use my Magic Card- Card of Sanctity."

A blue light shone from the ceiling as holographic coins rained down.

"This replenishes our hands, letting us draw cards until we have six."

Yusei and Yugi both drew.

"And now I'll use Mystical Space Typhoon." A magic hurricane whipped up, blasting away Yusei's facedown Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

Yusei glanced at his other face-down. Synchro Deflector. If Yugi would attack, he could use it to destroy the monster he attacked with. But he didn't have a monster with more than Junk Warrior's 3100 attack points. He would win.

"Now, I activate the Trap Card I've had on the field since this duel started!" Yugi's ever present facedown card flipped up, and the earth began to shake. "METALHOLD THE MOVING BLOCKADE!"

A tremendous robotic goliath with red-violet armor bearing a pair of cannons on it's shoulders and blasters on it's fingers appeared. Three facets were present on it's chest.

"A Trap Monster?" Jack asked.

"Booyah!" yelled Joey. "That's Metalhold! One'a Yugi's new monstahs! Ever hear'a Stronghold, the Movin' Fortress?"

"Yes, It's a Trap Monster that is summoned in defense mode, and if you have Green, Red, and Yellow Gadgets on the field, it gains 3000 attack points." the Turbo Duelist described before spitting on the ground. "Had an awful rough time solving a Duel Puzzle that involved that peace of crap."

"Well, Metalhold is kinda like a brother to it!"

Akiza and Jack looked at him oddly. "Joey, you do know they're robots right? They don't have 'brothers,'" said Akiza.

"Err...right. Anyway, when Metalhold the Moving Fortress is activated and then summoned, it equips itself with all Four Star Machine-Type Monstahs with effects that it's user controls. It then gains attack power equal to that of all the monstahs equipped with it totalled up!" Joey described.

"Wait, Red Gadget had 1300..." began Akiza.

"Goldie Gears had 1700..." added Jack.

"And Silver Gadget had 1500," finished Joey. "That adds up to a grand total of...uh..." He turned to them. "Any'a yooze good at math?"

Jack facepalmed. "Oh for the love of-It's 4500 attack points!"

"I don't think Yusei has a monster that can beat that...Except Junk Archer or Junk Destroyer..." noted Akiza.

The three smaller Machines disappeared and then reappeared inside Metalhold's three facets. It rumbled with power. 0atk-4500atk.

Yusei turned to his Synchro Deflector card.

"Metalhold! Attack Junk Warrior!" Yugi began. "Atomizing Ion Cannons!" The two cannon barrells glowed with green light.

Yusei laid a hand on his facedown. "I activate..." But then, a pain radiated into his mind. "Agh!" He clutched his head before a vision came to him.

 **0**

It was a white void. Only one figure faced him. It shared Yugi's spiked hair but was substantially taller.

Hate came back to Yusei. "Y...you!"

The figure's back faced him, but otherwise paid him no heed.

"Blood! Face me, you monster!"

Still no response.

Yusei grit his teeth, before taking a step forward. He wanted to grab this man, and rip him apart with his bare hands. But something was different. By this time, Blood would have turned around and insulted him, told him that it was his time to die, at least mocked or laughed at him.

The former Signer's feet came to a stop as he was right behind him. "Turn around...so I can see you." Yusei's voice echoed with rage.

The figure slowly turned around.

It was not Blood.

Blood's face echoed madness and evil. This one did not.

"Hello. Yusei." He said with a smile. The voice was deep and radiated majesty.

The Pharaoh Atem, wearing Yugi's Domino High Uniform, turned around and walked forward into a golden light that filled the void.

"Wait!" Yusei said, wanting to apologize for his mistake, only for the light to overtake him.

 **0**

He awoke with a gasp, and a hot sweat.

Yugi, Joey, Akiza and Jack came into view, with Yugi crouching beside him.

"You okay, man?" Joey asked. "You fell out in the middle of Yugi's turn!"

"I...had a vision. Of you Yugi," Yusei said. "But...something was different."

Yugi looked puzzled at first, but then he came to the realization. "I'll bet it was. You saw the other me."

"Other you?"

"It's a long story. I'm sorry we couldn't finish our duel."

"It's okay. But now I'm sure of it. You're more than strong enough to help us out."

"Yeah, but the thing is, Yuse'," said Joey. "Isn't that 'Blood' dude far off in the future? How are we gonna get to him? Do your motorbikes double as time machines?"

"No." answered Yusei. "The only reason we could come to this time was because the Crimson Dragon intervened. If not, we'd be dead right now."

All of the sudden, a red glow filled their semicircle. Yugi and Joey backed away.

Yusei looked at his arm and removed his glove. His eyes widened at the sight.

It was the Mark of the Dragon he had received from Goodwin, after their marks were Dragon's Head.

Akiza and Jack had received their respective marks as well.

"Okay, I'm lost...is the sudden appearance of a glowing red tattoo a good sign?" Joey said.

"What does that mean?" Yugi asked.

Yusei raised his head boldly. "It means...we're Signers again."

 **0**

 **How was that for a third chapter? In a turn of events, the Crimson Dragon has issued three of it's marks back to Yusei, Akiza and Jack!**

 **Jack: How come he said my name last!?**

 **Joey: Probably because you seem like the pompous annoyin' showoff type.**

 **Yugi: *Sweatdrops at Joey's statement.***

 **But with Crow, and the Twins dead, what will this spell for the Signers, and how will it turn the tide of the battle against the Pharaoh's evil doppleganger!?**

 **Until then, reviews are much appreciated~**


	4. Chapter 4

In the old Enerdy reactor, Blood remains in his concentrative state. Until finally, his eyes open. "So...that overgrown snake transported them to _that_ era..."

He clutched his fist and laughed deeply. "Ah-ha-ha! Perfect."

The black Millenium Puzzle around his chest glowed with an ominous red light.

 **0**

After their duel, Yugi, Joey, Akiza, Jack, and Yusei went back to Kame Game. Yugi's grandfather was watching them converse.

"So then, you're all in for helping us fight Blood?" Yusei asked.

Yugi nodded. "We can't let him do as he pleases."

"Yeah. And there's no way this dude can get away with ruinin' Yugi's good name, by rippin' off his look!" said Joey. "I'll beat his butt so hard he looks completely different!"

Akiza examined her newly remarked arm with a frown. "Yusei...something worries me a little."

"What is it?"

"If Luna, Leo, and Crow are dead, then the Crimson Dragon's sign isn't complete. We're short three out of six Signers."

"That...may be a problem."

Jack scowled, and rose from his seat.

"Jack?" asked Yugi. "What is it?"

The former King of Turbo Duels looked to Yugi, but his mind was elsewhere. All he saw was a certain girl, that at first he saw as a nuisance, later became something more.

She had long flowing black hair, and usually wore the most ridiculous of glasses, but had beautiful eyes.

Jack scowled in rage, as he remembered how Carly was taken, along with so many other innocents.

"I...I'm just...need some fresh air." He said, leaving the shop.

Yusei frowned.

"What's his deal?" Joey asked.

"A friend of his was killed in Blood's initial rampage. A close one that saved him from a bad slump."

"Yugi, could I ask something?" said Akiza.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Where is Seto Kaiba?"

Joey scoffed. "That bozo? Nobody's seen him for a while. He and Yugi had another big duel, and then fought this dude named Aigami-err...Diva, and beat him, but then Kaiba went missing.

"Mokuba and a couple'a Kaiba's cronies are taking care of their company, but there's been no sign of him."

"I hope he's alright." said Yugi.

 **0**

Jack propped himself against a tree, and took out some cards that weren't his, staring at several of them. Fortune Lady Earth, Fire, Light, Wind, Water, Dark, and Solitaire Magician.

"Carly...I swear, I will avenge you."

Footsteps approached, prompting Jack to turn around, bringing him to see the others.

"Are you okay?" Yusei asked.

"I don't need to go spilling my guts. This is a time for action."

"Alright then." His friend added. "Now hopefully we can figure out a way to go back to our own time with Yugi in tow."

"Hey, what about me!?" Joey asked.

"Right. Joey too. Then, when we get back, find Blood and take him out."

As they said this, a scream pierced the area.

"What in the world!?" Akiza yelled.

The skies took on a red hue, as a spiraling cloud became a tornado-like vortex that slowly touched the ground, which trembled.

"What's going on?" asked Yugi, taking a subconscious step back.

Yusei's gasped in horror, as he felt a familiar presence. "It's... **him**...he's coming here!"

The vortex began to shrink in size, until it dissipated into a human form. The wicked entity appeared before them.

"It's Blood!" shrieked Akiza.

Yugi shuddered, but his eyes remained transfixed on the enemy's face. "He...he looks like...Atem!?"

Blood lowered his head, and looked at Yugi.

"Hello... _partner_... _Ah-ha-ha-ha!_ "

The young man thought his eyes deceive him, but started to grit his teeth in rage. "You...You're not the Pharaoh, you monster!"

"You could say that I both _am_ and am not...I am the darkness that existed within the Pharaoh, before he expelled it from himself." Blood said with a sneer. "Do you recall the battle with Dartz, and his servants? He played that lovely card called The Seal of Orichalcos."

Yugi and Joey both remembered that wicked card. It could magnify the darkness within someone's heart until it controlled them, as well as taking the soul of the loser of a duel that it was played in.

"When he fought Rafael, and played it, I was born within the Pharaoh, and took control of him." Blood began. "It felt so great to have such power, to be free and bring forth such delicious devastation. But Rafael defeated me, and Atem regained control. I tried to stab at his consciousness and regain dominance, even during his final battle against the Great Leviathan, but he used his power, and the Millenium Puzzle to banish both myself, and that beast into the Shadow Realm, where I grew into the form you see now.

"I festered in that prison for **decades** until a happy accident let me free. That accident was called Zero Reverse."

Yusei clutched his fist. "Zero Reverse...why does that cursed event continue to haunt us!?"

"Be it as it may, the Netherworld wasn't the only thing that the event effected. The Shadow Realm was affected as well, opening an interdimensional rift, allowing me to make my return. Still, it took roughly twenty years for me to adopt my physical form in _this_ world, where I saw the injustice of mankind. War, prejudice, hatred, internment, all these damnable things are why I am bringing forth divine judgement against the human race!

"So then, Yugi Muto, are you ready to feel the power of the true Pharaoh?" He held up his hybrid copper Diadhank-Duel Disk. "You too, shall be judged."

Yugi stood his ground, and pulled out his own Duel Disk, and attached it's lens to his left eye. "You're the one who needs to be judged. Not humanity."

"Believe what you will, but **I will** destroy this filthy mortal plane. All things will be at one with the darkness," said Blood, shuffling his Deck.

Yugi shuffled his own deck. "I won't let that happen!" ' _Atem...watch me._ '

"Duel!" They shouted in unison.

"My turn!" announced Yugi. "Draw!" He took the card and set it into his Disk. "I summon Marshmacaron in defense mode!" A pink blob appeared on his field with a bounce. (200/200DEF)

"And now I end my turn, with two face-down cards."

"My move. I draw!" Blood shouted. "Behold, I summon **Blood Lione**!" A savage lion with ruffled fur and a horn on it's head appeared. ( 1500ATK/1200DEF)

"And when he's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon **Blood Ram** from my Deck!" A four-armed humanoid ram with wicked red hide appeared, curled horns on either side of it's head. (1400ATK/1800DEF)

"Those look like Berfomet and Gazelle!" Joey noted.

"They're my... _improved_ versions." Blood said with a smirk. "Blood Lione, devour that joke of a monster!"

At his command, the lion pounced on Marshmacaron and with a mighty swing of it's paw, reduced it to slime on the pavement. However, the slime remains formed into two more of the telltale creature. (200DEFX2)

"When you destroy _one_ Marshmacaron, I can special summon _two_ from my Hand, Deck, or Graveyard!" described Yugi.

"Then Blood Ram will obliterate your second Marshmacaron!" The fiend flew in and slammed it's fists down on the small creature.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn." Blood said.

Yugi placed his hand on his Deck. ' _Pharaoh...be with me._ ' He thought before opening his eyes. "Draw!" He announced.

"Well? Did you get a good one?" Blood taunted.

"You tell me. I sacrifice my last Marshmacaron to summon Dark Magician Girl!" The buxom sorceress appeared with a flurry of flower petals. (2000ATK/1700DEF)

She stood next to Yugi, before giving a confused stare at Blood. The evil clone of Yami Yugi glared at her, causing her to gasp and retract.

"Now I play Sage's Stone!" Yugi added. "Allowing me to call forth her steadfast teacher! Dark Magician!" The powerful mage appeared, glaring at Blood. (2500ATK/2100DEF)

"Hmm..." Blood said, examining him with a scratch of his chin. "Doesn't feel like Mahad...doesn't have his charm."

Yugi scowled. "Don't play like this is a game!"

"Oh, are we not playing _Duel Monsters_?"

Joey clutched his fist. "Yug'! Don't let this look-alike freak psych you out!"

"I won't!" Yugi affirmed. "Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl! Attack with Double Dark Magic Attack!" The two Spellcasters raised their wands and uttered an incantation before launching a massive blast of dark power at Blood's evil monsters, irradiating them.

Blood-2400 Lp.

"Good. Good!" His enemy praised. "But not... _that_ good. I activate my face-down card!" A card showing an image of a slain warrior with two black figures raising from his body with malicious expressions. " **Blood Spawn**!"

"And what...does that do?" Akiza asked, holding Yusei tightly.

"I'm uh...sure we're about to find out..." The Shooting Star of Satellite mumbled.

"When a Blood Monster or Monsters are destroyed by battle, I can special summon a group of Blood Monsters from my Deck whose total attack points are equal to or less than the destroyed monsters'!"

Three blobs of darkness appeared before him. "I summon **Blood Rodent**!" A large rabid and armored rat carrying a wretched sword appeared. ( 1200ATK/1500DEF) " **Blood Dabak!** " A single-horned imp with red hide and white eyes appeared. (1200ATK/1100DEF) "And **Kuri-Blood**!" What appeared to be a blob of red blood appeared on his field before manifesting into a red Kuriboh with two silver-scythe-like talons, rather than it's claws. ( 300ATK/200DEF)

"Three monsters..." said Jack. "Don't tell me he's going to summon one of those gods..."

Yugi's eyes popped inside his head.

Blood Atem smirked. "So, Yugi? Do you know what's coming next?"

Yugi was haunted by images of three colossal monsters; a goliath with massive wings and hard muscles, an enormous dual mouthed dragon, and a golden bird-like dragon with a ring behind it's head.

The fear almost overcame him, but he clutched his fist. "I've beaten them before, and I can beat them again!" Yugi shouted. ' _But...I don't have my Magnet Warriors in my Deck, so the combo I used to destroy them last time won't work...and if he doesn't summon Slifer, then even that strategy wouldn't work!_ '

"It's...your turn."

Blood drew his next card with a flourish.

"Prepare to experience hell, Yugi Muto." He said hauntingly. "My three monsters of darkness, become my sacrifices to invoke god!"

The three nightmarish creatures before him vanished in pillars of light. Blood held a card up, closed his eyes and started to chant.

" _Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry_

 _Unlock your power from deep within, so that together we may win_

 _Envelop the desert with your glow, and cast your rage upon my foe_

 _Appear before me in this Shadow Game, but first I shall call out thy name!_

 _WINGED DRAGON OF RA!"_

Yugi, Joey, Yusei, Jack, and Akiza were almost blown off their feet by a powerful wind that whipped up as an enormous ball of light appeared above them, almost outshining their sun.

"No...not him!" Joey shouted, remembered the pain that he suffered in his duel with Yami Marik.

The ball of light unfolded in a mechanical fashion, until it's true form was revealed: a giant dragon with avian cues, and metal body. A large sapphire embedded in it's forhead, and a ring bordered around it's head.

"He summoned Ra..." Yugi said, before pondering his two face-down cards-Magician's Circle and Shift. Neither one could effect this godly monster.

"You know full well all of this God Card's powers, Yugi." Blood began. "It's attack and defense points are equal to the combined stats of the sacrificed monsters!" (2700ATK/2800DEF) "And once per turn, I can command him to use his heavenly powers to smite one monster my opponent controls without attacking at the cost of a thousand Life Points!"

"So go. Destroy Dark Magician Girl!" The dragon breathed fire on itself, until it's body appeared to be born of flame. A phoenix, radiating holy power.

"Egyptian God Phoenix!"

At this command, Ra dove in on Dark Magician Girl and impacted, vaporizing her before she could even scream.

Yugi himself could, letting loose a heart-wrenching cry.

Yusei nearly vomited. He had seen visions of his friend Crow destroyed by this beast, but seeing with his own eyes was too much. He could only pray that Luna and Leo's deaths were quick and merciful.

Finally, the phoenix flew back behind Blood, leaving the area it had struck a scorched pallet. Yugi was left panting, and coughing.

"Look at you, on your last leg, and I haven't even really attacked yet. But I will...after I use Ra's special ability! But before so, I'll activate a Continuous Trap called Life-Absorbing Machine!" His face-down lifted up. "Now whenever I pay Life Points, I'll re-gain half those Life Points during my next Standby Phase!"

Blood's body started to vanish in black smoke, that channeled to the top of Ra's head. His entire body, save for his left eye appeared on the top of the dragon's head. The left eye itself was still below, where he once stood, staring back at Yugi. (Ra's ATK-4099)

Blood-1 Lp.

"This is bad..." Akiza said softly.

"Not... _so_ bad...I mean, if Yugi had a card that dealt even the slightest amount of damage in his hand that had nothing to do with The Winged Dragon of Ra, he'd win!" Jack added.

"Yeah, but Yug' doesn't roll like that." countered Joey. "The only card I know he has that actually deals damage without battling is Magic Cylinder...I don't know if it works on Ra though. He told me it _would've_ worked on Slifer during his first match with Marik, but he blocked it out."

"What will you do now, _partner_?" Blood asked, with a chuckle. "I control the strongest monster of all, and you are left with one washed-up magician!"

Yugi growled. "STOP CALLING ME PARTNER!" He shouted. "You are NOT the Pharaoh! You're some abomination in his image! And I'll avenge every single soul you've destroyed!"

"Talk is cheap, Yugi. In a duel, only the cards are meant to do the talking! Winged Dragon of Ra, destroy that Magician!" The deified dragon shrieked, gathering solar power in the ring around it's head. This power then channeled into a fiery ball of light in it's beak-like jaw.

"GOD BLAZE CANNON!" Ra launched the tumultous blast at Dark Magician, who tried to stand his ground, but was reduced to ash.

Yugi screamed as he felt his life force ripped away, like a chunk of his own soul stolen from his being.

Yugi-2401 Lp.

Even though he didn't even lose half his Life Points, Yugi felt exhausted by such an attack, like his own bones had been charred.

"I set one card, and end my turn." Blood said.

The boy barely felt the strength to draw his next card. "S...Silver Gadget." The silver-plated robot appeared, striking a defensive pose. (1500ATK/1000DEF)

Yugi then placed another card on his Disk. "He lets me Special Summon...Gold...Gadget..." A gold version of his previous monster, also kneeling in defense. (1700ATK/800DEF)

"Your...turn."

Blood drew his next card. His Life Points rose up to 700.5. "Tired already? Heh. How's this? I summon a nifty monster called Ra's Disciple!" A humanoid dressed in a garb, resembling Winged Dragon of Ra appeared. (1100ATK/600DEF)

"Wait a minute...he has that card!?" Jack asked.

"Why, what is it?" Joey asked.

"There are records that a _copy_ of Ra's card was created by Industrial Illusions, for testing purposes. A renegade card designer stole it, and made cards both to make Ra's summoning easier, _and_ to control the monster itself!"

"That's enough of a history lesson." Blood said. "When this monster is summoned, I can summon to more Ra's Servants from my Deck!" Two more of the humanoids appeared. (1100ATKx2)

"On his next turn...he'll summon another God Card!" Yusei shouted.

"If he survives this assault! My Ra's Servants! Destroy his Gadgets!" Two of the monsters dashed in and slashed Yugi's Gadgets apart. Only for them to be replaced by Red Gadget(1300ATK/1500DEF) and Yellow Gadget(1200ATK/1200DEF)

"When my Gold and Silver Gadgets are destroyed, I can Special Summon two more Level 4 Gadget monsters from my Deck!" described Yugi. "And Yellow Gadget's ability will let me add Green Gadget to my Hand!" He took the card and shuffled his Deck.

"Hmm...seems you _will_ survive after all," said Blood. "But not for long. Ra will obliterate that Red Gadget!" The dragon unleashed a second blast of sacred energy, vaporizing the gear monster.

Yugi was propelled backward landing on his back.

"Your...turn."

Yugi drew his next card. "I...I cannot lose..." ' _Heart of the cards...guide me_...' He thought, drawing his next card. "Swords of Revealing Light!" The magic swords appeared and crashed between him and Blood, who scoffed.

"You are aware that instantly after your turn end, the Swords' effects will wear off against Ra, even if his Disciples are still paralyzed, right?"

"He'll still have to get by my monsters first. I summon Green Gadget in defense mode." The final green colored gear monster appeared. (1400ATK/600DEF)

"Your...move."

Blood drew his card. He looked at it and smirked. "Your wall...is no more. I sacrifice my three Ra's Disciples to summon..." His three humanoids vanished. "OBELISK THE TORMENTOR!"

The blue-skinned titan appeared before him, spreading it's stony wings and flexing it's muscles with a roar. (4000ATK/4000DEF)

"I remember that creature. The Crimson Dragon threw him for a loop." Jack snorted.

"Your Swords will effect Obelisk for this one turn, but like Ra, he'll be free next turn." The doppleganger said.

"Ra!" The dragon shrieked and incinerated Green Gadget.

Yugi sweated under the tremendous heat. "Is there no way to stop this?" He whispered.

"It's...your turn." Blood said.

Yugi shakily drew his next card and set it face-down. A sideways card appeared before him.

"Let me guess. Your Marshmallon?"

Yugi merely lowered his head. ' _He's...seen through my strategy. If he attacked Marshmallon while it was face-down, it would deal him a thousand points of direct damage. But now that he knows, there's no way he'll fall for it. Atem saw through it too, so I guess it was only natural for Blood to as well._ '

"I take it that means it's my _next_ turn. I draw!" Blood announced. "I activate Nobleman of Crossout!" A blond knight appeared and struck down Yugi's face-down monster. Indeed, the white jelly-like monster with an upside-down face appeared for a brief moment.

"Oh no!" Akiza shouted.

"Now he'll be open to a direct attack!"

"Ra! Do away with his final line of defense, that Yellow Gadget!" The monster whose body he fused with loosed another fireball, burning Yellow Gadget to a crisp.

"He's defense-less!" Yusei screamed.

"YUGI!" Joey shouted.

"Obelisk! Send Yugi Muto to the next world with Fist of Fate!" Blood demanded.

Obelisk drew it's fist back and threw it forward, picking up a massive force. Yugi was frozen in place. He covered his eyes.

" _Giving up already? And here I thought you were a competent duelist._ " A voice echoed.

The young King of Games gasped, and managed to grab one of the cards in his hand. He slipped it into his Graveyard, and a large brown-furred creature appeared before him and absorbed much of the impact from Obelisk's fist.

However, the fist itself still impacted fiercely, sending him flying into a tree, and causing the tree to snap in two. Yugi coughed up blood as his vision failed him.

"How could this...happen?" He wheezed.

The last thing that came into his vision was a dim golden light, which materiallized into a figure clad in a floor-length snow-white coat. "K...Kaiba?"

 **0**

Everyone present except Blood focused on Yugi, who was severly injured by the attack, despite not having taken any damage. He had fallen unconscious as soon as he uttered Kaiba's name.

Blood however was focused on the figure that had suddenly arrived in a small rush of light. He smirked.

"Well, this is a surprise...and how did you find your way back here from the other plane...Seto Kaiba?"

Kaiba stood across from him, the wind fluttering his coat-tail.

"Did you think that I would let you get away with what you did?" The CEO said with a cold countenance. "You interrupted my duel, and now I'm putting a stop to yours." He attached the eyepiece of the new Duel Disk system to his eye. A Deck of holographic cards appeared in the Deck Holder of the Disk already on his arm as he started to advance on Atem's evil clone, standing across from his disembodied eye, that closed halfway almost as if taunting him.

"Kaiba? Where did you come from?" Joey asked.

Seto passed right by him. "That's not your concern, but since I know you're going to annoy me about it, I'll explain after I defeat this poser."

" _Defeat me_?" Blood asked. "I have the power to crush _any_ mortal duelist that comes before me, and you, a pompous little man has the audacity to challenge me?"

Kaiba waved his hand. "You _may_ have the Egyptian God Cards, but even they aren't invincible. I'm going to show you a dueling power that leaves even them in the ancient dust!"

"Now that I would like to see," said Blood. "I believe I will indulge you after all. Just don't disappoint me. I'll even end my turn and let you pick up Yugi's turn. I'll even let you use the cards in the boy's Graveyard if you wish. I set one card and end my turn."

Blood-700.5 Lp.

Kaiba-4000 Lp.

Kaiba drew five cards and drew a sixth with one quick swipe. "My move. I activate Summoner's Art. Thanks to this, I can add one Five-Star Normal Monster from my Deck to my Hand." He took one more card from his Deck, and revealed it. A Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"As if I didn't see _that_ coming." Blood mocked.

"And now I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy that face-down card!" A hurricane tore apart his enemy's face-down.

"So you destroyed my Sakuretsu Armor." Blood shrugged. "So what? I wasn't expecting you to quickly summon a monster like your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon right away."

"My...normal Blue-Eyes Ultimate?" Kaiba asked with a smirk.

"What do you mean?" His opponent puzzled, prompting Kaiba to answer with a copy of Polymerization.

Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons appeared, one appearing to be sleeker than the other two, before becoming light particles and melding in a vortex.

"I'm summoning a monster that can erase all your God Cards!" Kaiba shouted. "I combine my three mighty beasts to create Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

A larger, more menacing version of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon appeared with a titanic roar. (4500ATK/3800DEF)

"What the-?" gasped Jack. "Neo-Ultimate?"

"Interesting..." Blood noted, scratching his chin. "And what exactly is the difference between this dragon and the old one?"

"This Fusion has a powerful ability. Up to twice per turn, I can send a Blue-Eyes Fusion Monster from my Fusion Deck to the Graveyard to have him gain an extra attack!"

His enemy gasped as well. "But...that's enough power to-"

"Wipe you out!" Seto finished. "So I send the original Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to the graveyard!" Another, smaller three-headed Blue-Eyes appeared and was absorbed by it's new counterpart. "So that Neo Blue-Eyes can destroy both Obelisk _and_ Ra!"

The dragon roared wildly before rearing all three of it's Ghidoran heads back and gathering energy in it's massive maws.

"Burn in hell!" Seto cried. "Neo-Neutron Blast Attack!" His monster unleashed a huge rush of quaking energy that ripped across the field, aiming directly for the two godly monsters.

With a howl, Obelisk was shattered. Ra resisted, but in turn was also obliterated.

Blood stood against the storm of power, only to feel a burning in his chest.

"Wha-!?" The black replica of the Millenium Puzzle around his neck burned into his flesh as it glowed eerily. Blood could feel his presence fading from the current realm.

"Fine...you may have bested me here, Seto Kaiba, but I'll return. AND YOU WILL BE JUDGED!"

When the Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's attack faded, and it's hologram disappeared, Blood had vanished, leaving only his footprints charred into the pavement.

"Whoa..." Joey marvelled. "I didn't think Kaiba's tech could do that..."

Kaiba removed his eyepiece lens as the Disk on his arm disappeared. "That wasn't me. He must've turned tail and ran."

Yusei frowned, hefting Yugi over his shoulder. "We better get him home. Those blasts from Blood's monsters really banged him up."

Jack scoffed. "For a King of Games, he's a lightweight."

Kaiba turned to the similarly dressed Turbo Duelist. "And who are you? New additions to his nerd herd?" He snorted. "His little girlfriend left, so he had to find new playmates?"

"Watch yourself, rich boy. He-heh!" laughed Joey. "These guys are _good_ at cards. So I doubt you outta ruffle their feathers." He imagined Kaiba's shocked expression at Yusei demonstrating a Synchro Summoning of a random monster.

"Whatever. I have a company to run, but if I find that poser again, I'll show him how a real duelist battles."

"He's a demon, Mr. Kaiba." Yusei said, respectively. "Not an ordinary man."

"What are you babbling on about?" He asked, turning around to him.

"That man's name is Blood, and he's a monster made in Yugi's other self's image." The Signer continued. "He doesn't just want to prove that he's a great duelist. He wants to _kill_ every human being on Earth."

"We've seen his work, even fought him. The monsters he produces are **real**." Akiza added. "Not a gaming gimmick."

Seto thought back to all the times when magic was brought to his ears. All his life, he had vehemently denied such notions as the ramblings of lesser people that had nothing better to do with their time. But several times, he felt himself affected by it. The first was against Yugi's other self, when he suffered the power of a Mind Crush, having to piece his own heart back together piece by piece, and again when his soul was trapped in a card by Maximillion J. Pegasus, the inventor of the game he so cherished. Next came the feeling of entrapment in a nightmarish netherrealm after losing at the hands of Dartz.

The battles against Zorc the Dark One, and Aigami were compelling, and now...he had technically _been_ to the afterlife without dying. He could no longer truly deny it.

"I still don't know much about all that..." Kaiba began. "But I can't really say much against it anymore." He turned to Yusei, Jack, Akiza, Joey, and the now unconscious Yugi. "I'll tell you something now. How I met that piece of dirt a while back."

 **0**

In a rush of darkness, Blood found himself back in the Old Ener-D reactor, defeated and sore, but not hurt.

"Seto Kaiba...such an enigmatic man..." He muttered. "He is going to be a problem."

He held his arms out. " **Supreme Darkness! I, both your apostle,** _ **and**_ **your lord, present myself!** " As he said this, the ornament around his neck glowed again. But this time not with heat. With power.

" **I have been shamed and humiliated by a wretched mortal. And now, I ask of you to reach down to your deepest depths and grant me collaborators; subordinates, so that thy will of judgement shall be done! This, I ask...no...I command you**!" The darkness around him flowed through his body, down to the glowing depths of the reactor.

More dark power flowed erupted from the pit beneath him.

" **Yes...** " Blood said sinisterly with a smile.

Two figures took shape before him, both bowing their heads.

"Good...good...now...follow my every order or perish again."

The first figure, a wicked entity with snow white hair raised his head. "So be it..."

The second figure, a man with a crazed expression and exotic skin, wild platinum blond hair sticking out in every direction. "...Eh-he-he-he! Seems we've been recalled to the material world...Fine...I see nothing wrong with that."

Blood smirked. "I'm glad you gentlemen see it my way...without further ado, let us be off. There is work to do."

"With pleasure." The first figure added with a laugh.

The three of them all joined in wicked cackling.

 **Card Index**

 **Blood Lione**

 **Level 4/DARK/Beast/Effect/1500ATK/1200DEF**

 **When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 "Blood Ram" from your Deck.**

 **Blood Ram**

 **Level 5/DARK/Fiend/1400ATK/1800DEF**

 **Blood Spawn**

 **Normal Trap Card**

 **When a "Blood" monster(s) is destroyed by battle, you can special summon any number of "Blood" monster(s) from your Deck with no more combined ATK than the destroyed monster's combine ATK.**

 **Blood Rodent**

 **Level 4/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect/1200ATK/1500DEF**

 **When this card declares an attack on a monster, you can have this card gains 500ATK.**

 **Blood Dabak**

 **Level 4/DARK/Fiend/Effect/1200ATK/1100DEF**

 **When this card is destroyed by card effect and sent to the graveyard, you can target one card on the field: destroy it. This effect cannot be negated.**

 **Kuri-Blood**

 **Level 1/DARK/Fiend/Effect/300ATK/200DEF**

 **When you would take battle damage, you can discard this card: Your opponent takes all the battle damage you would take from that battle instead of you.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So I actually watched Dark Side of Dimensions' English dub a while back...and I had no idea they were using the real-life starting Life Point score.**

 **Nonetheless, I'll keep the anime/manga's 4000 point one for this fic until a later point. Without further ado, let's get the show on the road.**

After waking from his ill-fated fight with Blood, Yugi sat in a lounge chair at Kaiba's office at Kaiba Corporation.

' _Atem..._ ' He thought.

Seto himself crossed his fingers as he sat behind the Desk. The rest of the group glanced his way. He told a strange story about how he used Diva's strange cube-like object as a means of travel. He was sent to a dimension that bore a palace, and in that palace he found Atem and dueled him. However, just when the match came to a head, Blood suddenly appeared from nowhere, knocked Seto away, and made off with the three Egyptian God Cards.

"Now that I've told you everything, we need to find a way to pinpoint Blood's location..." Seto began. "He apparently has the ability to teleport, and because we have no way of tracking him it'll be difficult. Magic. So annoying..."

"That phony Millenium Puzzle around his neck might have something to do with it." noted Joey.

"But the Pharaoh never teleported with the real one." Yugi added. "So it probably has different powers as well as some that the real Puzzle had."

Jack silently stood in the corner with his arms crossed.

"Wait a minute...if it's a puzzle, then the pieces can be taken out...and if we can steal a piece of it, we can examine it," said Yusei. "Though I doubt how well scientific equipment can help us understand a magical artifact."

"Pretty well, actually," added Seto with a smirk. "We've got Diva's Millenium Cube in our R & D department under constant examination. We've learned of it's dimension transfer properties and are even discussing technical applications. That's how I found the Pharaoh. The only things we don't know is how it can turn into a Duel Disk, or be used as a weapon, like Diva did, or what kind of substance it's made out of. It clearly looks like gold, but it must just be a similar material."

" _I wouldn't say something like that, Seto Kaiba..._ " A haunting voice snickered as it entered the room.

"That voice!" Jack exclaimed.

The six of them glanced at Kaiba's computer monitor on the desk and saw Blood holding a boy on the verge of unconsciousness by the hair.

"M...Mokuba!" Seto shouted. "What have you done!?"

Blood smirked and held up the Millenium Cube, a small golden cube with the Eye of Wdjat on it.

"I just came to pick this up. And by the way, I wouldn't discredit gold. It is, after all, a godly element. I could take this boy's life now, but all in good time."

"You bastard!" Joey shouted. "Don't bring a kid like Mokuba into this!"

"Joseph Wheeler...you demise will be a fun one...heh-heh!" said Blood.

"What did you say!?" The blond duelist shouted, shaking the computer screen angrily. "I'll come down there and jam my foot so far up your-"

"IF you want to fight...then come out and fight my...proxies...You might just recognize them...heh...heh...heh..."

The screen morphed back into the laboratory setting, with several scientists helping Mokuba.

"That...beast!" Jack shouted. "They'll be no forgiveness for him!" He stood up, and clenched his fists. "Hey! All of you listen! I'll be the one to fight this time! Got it?"

Kaiba glared at the former King of Turbo Duels.

"That's my brother that he just assaulted. Not just me or my company. So a nobody like you should just butt out of my business!"

The blond haired Signer returned Kaiba's glare. "I'll let that one go, considering the situation, and who you are." Jack began. "But I am far from a nobody."

The group made their way downstairs via elevator, and within moments left the building.

Yugi and Joey gasped at who met them.

"Bakura!? Marik!?"

Indeed, it appeared to be Bakura(or rather the evil spirit Yami Bakura) and Marik's evil half.

Yami Bakura smirked.

"Hello, boys...long time no see!" He said with a deranged smirk.

"But how!?" Yugi shouted. "You're...supposed to be dead...and YOU were banished into darkness!" He added, pointing at Yami Marik.

"That kind fellow who looks like the Pharaoh revived us..." Yami Marik grinned. "I don't quite know or care myself, but we just saw this as the perfect opportunity to exact our revenge!"

Seto scoffed before turning away. "These two aren't worth my time. You lot deal with them."

"Kaiba, wait!" Joey began. "Where are you goin'!?"

"To find some way of tracking Blood down. You can clean up the trash."

Joey balled his fist. "Jerk!"

"So then...who's going to fight us?" Yami Bakura asked.

"I will!" Jack announced. "I've been getting rusty from all this lack of use."

"So will...so will I!" Yugi added.

Yami Marik hefted his Duel Disk and activated it. His ally and Jack did the same as Yugi attached the neural link of the new Duel Disk and powered it on.

"Let's duel!"

Yami Bakura/Yami Marik-4000 Lp.

Yugi Muto/Jack Atlas-4000 Lp.

"I'll start." Bakura began. "First thing first, I'll activate Polymerization to combine Earl of Demise and Headless Knight to create Duke of Demise!"

A zombified nobleman and a fiendish knight appeared before swirling together in a vortex to create a zombified swordsman. (2000ATK)

"Next I'll summon Earthbound Spirit in defense mode!" A ghastly spirit crawled it's way from the earth. (500ATK/2000DEF)

"I set one card and end my turn."

Yugi drew his card. "Because you control a monster and I don't, I can Special Summon Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight!" A commanding warrior wielding a pair of lances with a cape trailing behind him appeared. (2300ATK)

"Alright!" Akiza cheered. "Neither of that creep's monsters can compare to that!"

"Attack! Spear that Duke of Demise!"

Lord Gaia jabbed the duke with his lances, but it stood firm as if nothing happened.

Yami Bakura dusted himself off. "My Duke of Demise is an undead spirit...It can't be destroyed in battle, but I have to remove from play a monster in my graveyard during my Standby Phase or else he destroys himself."

Yami Bakura/Marik-3700 Lp.

Yugi grimaced. "I set two cards and end my turn!"

"Good...now I get to have some fun with little Yugi!" Yami Marik said, drawing his card. "I'll remove my partner's Headless Knight from the graveyard to keep Duke of Demise in play and sacrifice Earthbound Spirit in order to summon Legendary Fiend!"

The ghoul vanished and was replaced by a nightmarish demon with jaw-like claws and tremendous black wings. (1500ATK)

"That thing gains 700 attack points on each of their turns!" Joey noted.

"True...but it's Jack's turn next."

"I set one card face down and activate Swords of Concealing Light!" Yami Marik began as dark swords appeared in front of Jack and Yugi. "Now Lord Gaia is trapped in the darkness until my next end phase! It's your move...Jack!"

Jack drew his card. ' _Blood must've told them all about us...then in that case...they know about Synchro!_ '

"Get ready! It's time to show you scum how I rule the duel! First I summon Barrier Resonator!" A tiny fiend with a light generator on it's back appeared, carrying a mallet and tuning fork. (100ATK)

Yami Marik and Yami Bakura broke out in uproarious laughter.

"Bwa-hah-ha!" The corrupted former tombkeeper chortled. "And what on earth do you intend to do by summoning that!?"

"I'll show you. Right now! When I Normal Summon a 'Resonator' monster, I can special summon Red Warg from my hand at half the attack strength!" He placed another card on his Disk, and a fiendish creature appeared, wrapped in flames.

Bakura smirked. "You're setting something up, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am! Level 1 Barrier Resonator tunes Level 6 Red Warg!"

The little fiend hit the tuning fork and mallet together, becoming a single mote of red light that morphed into a ring of green light that encircled Red Warg, that turned into six orbs of light. A bolt of light shot through the rings spearing each orb.

"I Synchro Summon Chaos King Archfiend!" Jack exclaimed. In a burst of light, a fiery fiend with a head and body swathed in flames and large wings. (2600ATK/2600DEF)

Yami Bakura and Yami Marik both drew back at the sight of the fiend that appeared before them.

"Chaos King Archfiend attack Legendary Fiend!" The fiery fiend charged the lesser fiend, burning it to cinders.

Yami Bakura/Marik-2600 Lp.

"Blood really should've picked some better goons than a couple of stooges that fail to protect their monsters!" Jack boasted.

"You should be a bit more careful of who you mock!" Yami Bakura said, drawing his card. "I activate my Trap! Multiple Destruction! With this, you and I place our Hands on the bottom of our Decks and draw five new cards."

"Don't forget, Bakura!" Yugi added. "That card makes the two of you lose 500 Life Points!"

"All the more worth it."

Yami Bakura/Marik-2100

"To play my new monster!"

"New monstah?" Joey asked. "What's he talking about?"

"I see no need to maintain Duke of Demise...begone!" Yami Bakura shouted as his Fusion Monster vanished.

"But now I'll play Fusion Recovery to recover Earl of Demise and Polymerization!" Two cards stuck from his Graveyard.

"Next I'll activate Polymerization one more time! But I'll play something a little different! I combine Spirit Reaper and Nightmare Horse!"

"Reaper on the Nightmare?" Akiza asked. "How's that going to help you?"

Yami Bakura chuckled forbodingly.

"Heh-heh-heh-heh...no you fool...I summon a creature from the deepest depths of the underworld!" Spirit Reaper and Nightmare Horse appeared before swirling together as colored energy in a vortex. "One that carries souls into eternal shadow! Burst forth from the gates of Hades and arise!

"Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon!"

From the fusion vortex appeared a tremendous skeletal and demonic dragon that glowed with an evil aura. (3000ATK/0DEF)

"W...what the-!?" Yusei gasped. "I've never heard of a monster like that!"

"Blood...gave it to me as a measure of...good faith...Heh-heh...

"Attack the face down Lord Gaia! Soul Crunch!"

The dragon lunged into the void of darkness generated by Yami Marik's Swords of Concealing Light, and with a tremendous crunching sound, he dragged the warrior from the shadows.

"This monster doesn't destroy its prey in battle. Instead, it summons a Soul Token to my field, and reduces the attack points of the empty shell to zero!"

A dark version of Yugi's warrior appeared.

"Go, Lord Gaia the Dark Knight! Slay your soul-less shell!" The swordsman charged at it's empty shell.

"I activate my Trap Card! United Front!" Yugi shouted, shoving a card into his graveyard slot. "Celtic Guardian! Stop that attack!"

An elf swordsman charged and blocked the evil gaia with it's sword.

"This negates your attack and decreases the Dark Soul Token's attack points by Celtic Guardian's own!"

"That means the reflected damage to you is 1200!" Jack added.

Yami Bakura/Marik-900 Lp.

"It's over!" The former king of New Domino cried. "Just give up and tell us what Blood is doing with that cube thing he took!"

Yami Marik started laughing darkly.

"Wah-ha-ha! What makes you think we'll tell you anything?" He asked. "Let's just finish our little game in...proper settings..."

He raised his hands and a ring of dark blue fire encircled them all.

Yusei gasped. "This is just like...the Dark Signers..."

"Without the Millenium Items, Blood had to improvise." Yami Bakura added. "Sounds appropriate, don't you think? I'll place one more card face down and end my turn."

"My turn. I draw!" Yugi said. "First I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He made two more draws. "Nice...I'll set two cards and summon Lemon Magician Girl!"

A blond sorceress with insectoid wings wearing golden armor and a pointed hat, with lemon blond hair appeared. (800ATK/800DEF)

"Your move, Marik!"

Yami Marik drew his card. "I'll discard two cards to summon **Dark Tuner Mad Mage**!"

"D-...Dark Tuner!?" Jack gasped.

A wicked witch-doctor like figure appeared in a cloud of darkness. (0ATK/0DEF)

"Tuner!? That creep knows about you guys' future summon thing?" Joey asked, balling his hands into claws.

"I...never expected this!" Yusei gasped.

"Now I'll summon Bowganian in attack mode!" A wicked mechanical eyeball with arms wielding a crossbow appeared. (1300ATK/)

"You know what's coming right now, Mr. King?" Yami Marik chuckled. "Level 4 Dark Tuner Mad Mage dark tunes Level 3 Bowganian!" The evil mage morphed into ten motes of light that stabbed into Bowganian, who contorted violently as their master started to chant.

" _Chaotic beast lurking in the depths of darkness, cloak yourself in flesh in and rise to consume the light!_ _Dark Synchro! Rise,_ _ **Life EATER Dragon!**_ "

In a burst of dark light, a large dragon appeared with a screech, but Akiza, Jack, and Yusei gasped at the sight of it.

It seemed to be a dark parodical cross between Life Stream Dragon and it's sealed, armored form, Power-Tool Dragon, with six bat-like wings on it's back, as well as a spike in the place of a right claw. A tail with a trident-shaped tip trailed behind it. It glared at Jack and Yusei with both hungry and furious red eyes. (2800ATK/2300DEF)

"That looks exactly like Leo's dragon! You monster! How do you have it!?"

Yami Marik answered with a dark chuckle.

"Blood...introduced it to the power of the Netherworld. Heh-heh-heh...and when this beast is summoned, It absorbs 2000 of my opponent's Life Points, and grants them to us!"

"What!?" Yugi gasped. "That's way too powerful!"

Life EATER Dragon spread it's wings, dark tentacles shooting out and stabbing Yugi and Jack in various parts of their body, and absorbing life energy from them.

Jack grit his teeth in pain as the hologram effects had been materiallized.

Yugi Muto/Jack Atlas-2000 Lp.

Yami Bakura/Marik-2900 Lp.

"And now, by forfeiting our battle phase, I can pay 500 Life Points to destroy one card on the field!"

Yami Bakura/Marik-2400 Lp.

The ferocious dragon screeched again, shooting a ball of darkness from it's maw at Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight.

"And why stop there?" Marik's dark half continued. "I'll do it two more times to destroy ALL your monsters!"

The dragon charged and fired two more energy balls at Lemon Magician Girl and Chaos King Archfiend.

Yami Bakura/Marik-1400 Lp.

"Wah-hah-hah-hah-hah!" The evil former tombkeeper chortled. "Fight us now!"

Jack placed his hand on his deck, ready to draw his next card, but suddenly, he felt a terrifying pressure.

"W...what is this?"

Suddenly, the world around him faded away, leaving only the darkness before him, as well as his opponent's monsters.

The two dragons lurched forward to him.

"Get...get away from me!" He demanded, fear taking hold as it was rarely apt to. "Get! NOW!"

"Can't draw a card, Jack?" A malignant voice asked from the side.

Jack glanced to the side to see none other than Blood with his arms crossed. The sinister replica of the Pharaoh had his arms crossed, eyes closed and was leaning against a pillar.

"You always were a weakling...You act like a mighty king, but in the end...insects are just insects."

Jack bared his teeth. "Damn you, Blood! How dare you mock me!"

"What will you do? You have no power here..." Blood said, opening his crimson eyes and levitating in the air above him as well as Yami Marik and Bakura's dragons. His expressioned turned mad as his physical form faded away into a form of darkness with two crimson eyes and a mouth filled with jagged fangs.

" _Now sink into the pit of the Netherworld, and join the rest of the sinners!_ "

Jack tried to back away as the two creatures advanced on him, but found that he was unable to move.

Looking down, he found a pair of hands grasping at his ankles and holding him down with an incomparable grip. To his shock, a face started to form below him.

"C...Carly?!" He gasped.

The black haired girl's visage grinned with malice, as her eyes were reduced to nothing but dimly shining yellow orbs. Her teeth also like fangs.

"Come on, Jack..." The blasphemic figure said in a twisted version of Carly Carmine's voice as it rose from the floor, wrapping around him. "Join us...it'll be easy...Just give in...and let the shadows claim you..."

"N...never! Y...You aren't Carly! Stop using her voice!" Jack protested, but found his own voice wearing thin.

More dark faces emerged. All those he recognized.

Crow...Luna...Leo...Mina...Yusei...Akiza.

"Join us...Join us... _Join us!_ "

"Stop! Now!" Jack demanded.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, a light emerged amidst the void of darkness.

The figure walked forward, glowing radiantly. A man with grey hair flowing behind his back, wearing a white suit.

"G..Goodwin!?"

"Find your light, Jack...Your own light. It's the only way out." The image of Rex Goodwin said, before turning around and fading away.

"Wait! Come back!" Jack began, trying to reach to him.

The twisted figures around him closed in and grabbed him. He felt himself sinking through the floor. A wicked evil light could be seen below, similar to that of the old Ener-D reactor.

"No...No...This can't be! I won't let it!"

He started glowing with crimson light.

"I WON'T!" Jack growled. "There's too much riding on this battle! I won't let my memories fade away!"

In an instant, the dark figures around him drew back in fright, completely withdrawing from his form. He started to glow like flame.

In the waking world, Jack's eyes whipped open as his Signer Mark lit up, burning brighter than it ever had before.

Akiza and Yusei felt their own marks shine as well.

Yami Marik and Bakura took a step back. "Wh...what is this!?" Yami Bakura asked.

"It's my turn!" Jack growled. "DRAW!" He screamed, pulling the next card from his Deck. Somehow, a shockwave sent it's way across the field, causing Draconecro and Life EATER Dragon to retreat slightly.

He held up two cards. "Because you control monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon Vice Dragon!" The sickly purple dragon appeared with a weak growl. (1000ATK/1200DEF)

"Next I'll summon Dark Resonator!" His signature tuner monster appeared.

"Level 3 Dark Resonator tunes Level 5 Vice Dragon!" The fiend hit it's mallet and tuning fork together, turning into three rings of green light that enveloped Vice Dragon, who in turn morphed into five motes of light.

" _The king's heartbeat will draw a line through here! Bear witness to it's creation shaking power!_ " Jack chanted as a blank card appeared in his hand as a majestic shriek echoed The Crimson Dragon appeared behind him the blank card reacted with an aura. " _Synchro Summon! Roar...Red Dragon Archfiend!_ "

In a burst of green light, his signature monster appeared behind him.

Yami Bakura inspected the new creature, but smirked.

"Looks like your dragon's seen better days, Jackie..."

"What are you...!?" Jack glanced behind him to see what could not have been anything but Red Dragon Archfiend, but it looked old and withered. One of it's horns was broken, as well as one of it's eyes being blind. It's right arm was bound in a ribcage-like cast. (3000ATK/2000DEF)

"What the hell!?"

Yugi reacted quickly, pressing a button on his Duel Disk, generating a holographic display screen.

"J...Jack! It may look weakened, but it has an awesome special ability!"

Jack peeked over at the view screen with Yugi. Now it was his turn to chuckle.

"Heh-heh-heh...Get ready boys! Time to serve up some humble pie! I use **Scarlight** Red Dragon Archfiend's special ability! Once per turn, it can destroy all Special Summoned monsters on the field and inflict 500 damage for each!"

"What!?" Yami Marik gasped.

"It can't be!" Yami Bakura added.

"But it is! Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend, take it away! Absolute Powerflame!" The demonic dragon gave a roar before spinning around and launching all consuming flames over his opponent's field, burning Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon and Life EATER Dragon away.

The two Yamis covered their faces with their forearms as the fire enveloped them.

Yami Bakura/Marik-400 Lp.

"And now, Scarlight! Finish the job with a direct attack!"

The dragon charged forward, and slammed the earth by their feet with the arm in the cast, triggering an explosion of flame and sending them flying back.

Yami Bakura/Marik-0 Lp.

Yugi Muto/Jack Atlas-WINNERS!

The holographic effects vanished as their Duel Disks powered down.

"Now! Tell us where Blood is and what is he planning to do with Diva's cube!" Yugi demanded.

Dark mist filled the area, rolling in from seemingly nowhere.

Yami Bakura's voice echoed.

"How should I know? I'm...only a shadow of what once was." He said morbidly before the mist blew away, with neither of their opponents in sight.

"That was...creepy." Joey noted.

Jack sighed, before taking Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend's card from his Disk. "Still...I didn't think Red Dragon Archfiend would return in a different form..."

"That probably means that Stardust and Black Rose will too..." Yusei intoned. "The Crimson Dragon is such a mystery, even to us."

"It's never steered us wrong though." Akiza added. "So that was a total bust...where do we go from here?"

Yugi solemnly watched the area. "I don't know if Pegasus will give us any answers...If he has them. For now, it may be a good idea to leave town and head for a place far from people."

"Leave Domino?" Joey asked. "But Yug'! This is our home!"

"I know that, Joey, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Right now, Blood Atem's primary objective appears to be us. Maybe if we leave the area, he won't strike out at anyone else."

"I'm on board with that." Jack began. "But how exactly are we going to do that? Because the three of us on our Duel Runners would be much too conspicuous. And I don't take public transport."

"I'll see what I can do about that." Yugi said, scratching the back of his head with a nervous grin.

Jack smiled, and extended his arm to the young man.

"Even so, it was a real honor to duel with you...Yugi."

Yugi looked up to him and returned the gesture, shaking his hand.

"The same to you, Jack. We should have a match, just for fun when this is all over."

"I'd like that." The Turbo Duelist replied.

 **0**

Blood stood within the Ener-D reactor. "Hmph..." He scoffed. "Perhaps I was too...generous to them...The cards I gave to those wretches should've been more than enough to defeat Yugi, as well as Yusei...But that lizard had to stand in their way..."

He grinned with malice, before holding his arm upward. The black and red Millenium Puzzle around his neck glowed and levitated slightly. He clutched Aigami's cube in the other hand.

"Obsidian Puzzle! Quantum Cube! Channel the light of justice and the darkness of retribution! I am the Pharaoh's shadow! I command you! Grant me power unknown to render judgement on the wicked!"

From the aura of the Netherworld below him, and the heavens above him, a large influx of energy enveloped him in a wormhole-like fashion. The energy spiralled around him before coming to his open hand.

It took the shape of a small stack of cards, each emitting a black miasma.

He scanned the cards one by one with intent.

"Yes...Yes...I think I'll give these cards a test run...

"Joey...Wheeler...He'll be my test dummy. A fool that relies on the hand of fate alone is nothing against one that can shape fate itself!

"Prepare yourself...I'm coming for you!"

 **0**

 **Card Index**

 **Dark Tuner Mad Mage**

 **Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/Dark Tuner/Effect/0ATK/0DEF**

 **You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by discarding two card can only be Special Summoned by it's own effect. Cannot be targeted for attacks/effects.**

 **Life EATER Dragon**

 **Level 7/DARK/Dragon/Dark Synchro/Effect/2800ATK/2300DEF**

 **1 DARK Tuner Monster + 1 or more Non-Tuner DARK monsters.**

 **When this card is successfully Synchro Summoned: if you have 1000 or less Life Points, and your opponent has 3000 or more; your opponent takes 2000 damage, and you gain 2000. This effect can only be used once per Duel. Up to three times per turn, you can pay 500 Life Points: Destroy one card on the field.**

 **(This card is an Obsidian Counterpart to Power Tool Dragon/Life Stream Dragon.)**

 **0**

 **Blood has obtained a new dueling power, and has his sights set on Joey Wheeler! Is the duelist fated for demise, or will fate shine it's lucky stars down on him?**

 **Until next time, rate and review~~**  
 **(P.S., while guest reviews are very much appreciated, I'd very much like a review that I can reply to. No offense to anyone is intended)**


	6. Chapter 6

And so, the group of five headed out-after having rented a van for transportation, with a covered trailer to haul the three future duelist's Duel Runners.

Jack and Akiza sat in front, the former not happy at having to man the wheel.

' _Gh...the Master of Faster reduced to the position of a manservant._ ' The former King of New Domino cursed mentally.

Akiza paid him no mind, instead gazing out the window with a somber expression.

Yugi and Joey sat in the back, the latter asleep, despite the bumpy path. In the very back of the van sat Yusei, silent as the trees.

At the moment, Yugi was currently working on his Deck, to try and improve his strategy, should he have to face Blood Atem again in the near future.

Joey's mind took him to strange places in his dreams, but this one would prove to be far more interesting.

 **0Dream Sequence0**

 _The young man found himself alone in an expansive and futuristic metropolis. The aura of desolation was quite prevalent._

 _"Uh...hello? Anybody there?" Joey asked, with only the echoes of his own voice to answer him. He grimaced. "Man, this is givin' me the creeps..."_

 _Much to his shock, a shriek filled the air._

 _"What the-!?"_

 _The air around him thickened as a shadow descended to above. He shielded his face, as a flying creature sat down before him. As he looked, he gasped._

 _"R...Red-Eyes?"_

 _The Red-Eyes Black Dragon he valued as a partner card had manifested in front of his eyes. With a deep-throated growl, the dragon got low to the ground and took on a red glow, as it's body morphed and compressed._

 _It's form was now that of a draconian black motorcycle. It's engine revved, almost as if it was beckoning for him to get on._

 _"Eh...alright...Just don't go crazy..." Joey began as he sat on the seat. Immediately, the dragon/motorcycle took off at high speed. "AAAAHHH!"_

 _He was whisked around the empty city, the creature vehicle frantically making unexpected twists and turns, as if it were looking for something._

 _Finally, it came to a stop, throwing Joey off. The blond duelist hit the concrete rather hard._

 _"Oh man...am I glad 'dis is just a dream..." He muttered before shakily standing up._

 _"Wh...what the-?"_

 _He was now standing in front of an altar shrine, with serpentine dragons twisted into pillars. Two more of the wooden beasts met at the peak, clutching an orb with their jaws. What got Joey's attention most was the shining Duel Monsters card in the center. It was blank with a white frame, much like the one he had gotten when Yusei, Akiza and Jack first appeared._

 _"This card again...Why am I seein' it in my sleep?"_

 _He heard a growling and turned around to see Red-Eyes turned back to it's ordinary form, with it's head held low. It brushed it's head into his back, almost as if pushing him toward the shrine._

 _"Alright, alright, I'm goin'!" Joey groaned. He walked to the center of the shrine, and held his hand out, as if to pick the card up, but as soon as he touched it, a dark chuckling filled the air._

 _"What the-!? Don't tell me, it's dat Pharaoh wanna-be again!" Joey growled, ignoring the card and balling his fists._

 _Darkness filled the area, contorting into Blood Atem's shape. He cast a wicked smile at Joey. "Hello...old friend...Heh."_

 _"Don't you act chummy wit' me! I'm gonna kick your butt so hard you'll go flying into orbit!" Joey shouted._

 _Red-Eyes Black Dragon turned around and snarled at Blood, pooling flames in it's jaws. The dark counterpart to Atem walked forward and lightly tapped it on the beak._

 _The dragon shrieked in pain as it stopped preparing it's attack, writhing wretchedly._

 _"Red-Eyes! What's wrong!?" Joey asked._

 _Red-Eyes' wings fell as it's shrieks died down to nothing before it slowly petrified._

 _"What the-?"_

 _Joey's partner monster turned to sand before his eyes, filling him with terror._

 _At the happening of this event, Blood turned around and returned to a state of formless darkness that completely filled the altar._

 **0**

"No!" Joey screamed as he awoke, shocking the van's other occupants.

"Joey!?" Yugi asked. "Are you alright?"

His friend observed his hands shakily, before finally realizing that he was back in the waking world.

"Y...Yeah...just...just a bad dream." He replied.

"Oh, I'd say it was much more than that." Blood's voice echoed.

Yusei gasped. "Blood! Damn you! Why do you torment us so!?"

Darkness pooled in the center of the back of the vehicle, forming Blood's face.

"Humans are worthy of torment! Now...begone!"

The shadows burst all around the vehicle, prompting a scream from Akiza.

"Damn it all!" Jack cursed, trying to keep the van straight on the roadway.

The shadows spread over the van and the trailer it pulled, compressing around it. With a spark of magenta flame, it vanished.

 **0**

Joey felt himself hit a sand dune, shooting pain throughout his body.

"Owwww..."

He rose, finding himself in the center of an empty desert, with a black sky.

"Oh come on! Why did you have to go and do that!?"

"I take it that means you _didn't_ enjoy the ride?"

He turned around to see Blood Atem, with his Duel Disk already deployed.

"You bastard!" Joey cursed. "If it's a fight ya want, it's a fight you'll get!"

"Be careful, Joseph." Blood said. "Through the powers of the Pharaoh, The Orichalcos, and of the Netherworld, I have gained dueling ability like no other. That, and of course the gods are still lurking in my Deck."

"I ain't afraid. I stood up to The Winged Dragon of Ra, so I think I'll be fine."

"If you insist. Now then, shall we go?"

Joey activated his own Disk, and applied the neural link. "Come on!"

"Duel!"

Joey-4000 Lp.

Blood-4000 Lp.

"I'll kick things off by summoning Rocket Warrior!" The green and white checkered warrior in the shape of a rocket appeared, brandishing his sword and shield. (1500ATK)

"And I'll end my turn with this little face down! Show me what you got!"

"Very well. Draw!"

Blood turned around a single card in his hand. "I'll activate Dark Magic Veil from my Hand to instantly Special Summon a DARK-Spellcaster-Type Monster without sacrifice at the cost of a thousand Life. Come, Blood Sorceress!"

Blood-3000 Lp.

The scantily clad, pale, black-haired version of Dark Magician Girl appeared from a pool of viscous red fluid. (2000ATK/1700DEF)

"Next I use the Spell **Blood Lightning**!"

The card depicted a bolt of black lightning being loosed from a red sky.

"This card destroys one Spell and Trap Card my opponent controls, and inflicts 500 damage to them. At this time, my opponent cannot chain effects to this one."

"Oh no!" Joey cried as a lightning bolt struck down his facedown card.

Joey-3500 Lp.

"Blood Sorceress! Send his Rocket Warrior to hell!" Blood commanded. The Spellcaster was more than happy to oblige. Rather than launching a magic attack, she lunged forward with her staff and impaled Rocket Warrior with a savage expression.

Joey-3000 Lp.

"And when Blood Sorceress destroys a monster in battle, she inflicts damage to you equal to the number of cards I hold in Hand multiplied by 300!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" Joey growled before Blood Sorceress threw her staff down into the earth, sending evil magical energy at him, shocking the young man.

Joey-2100 Lp.

"How did that feel?"

"Ah, shaddap!" Joey demanded, ignoring the fact that his body parts were slowly vanishing.

"Did I forget to mention? The dimension I've trapped you and your friends in is a perpetual Shadow Game. So I'm afraid...You will die."

"I ain't ready to bite da big one just yet. Are you done?"

Blood slipped a card into his Disk as a reversed one appeared before him. "Yes."

"Good. I draw!" Joey shouted. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Rocket Warrior!" The funny-looking monster reappeared, with a ghastly expression.

"Now I'll play Red-Eyes Transmigration!"

"Oh, are you putting on armor again?" Blood mused. "You should know that no armor in the world can protect you from my terror."

Joey paid him no heed. "I sacrifice Rocket Warrior along with Gearfried from my hand and summon Lord of the Red!"

Gearfried the Iron Knight appeared briefly, before he and Rocket Warrior's bodies turned into flame that wrapped around Joey. He grimaced before letting out a roar of burning spirit.

When the flame died down, he was encased in an armor based on Red-Eyes Black Dragon's body. (2400ATK/2000DEF)

"Don't you look imposing." His enemy chimed sarcastically.

Joey growled again. "Oh yeah?! Just try activating card effects and see what happens!" He started running at Blood's Sorceress. "I'm not one for hittin' girls, but for you, I'll make an exception!" He reached out and slugged the Dark Magician Girl parody in the stomach, causing her to shatter.

"Fool." Blood said as his Life Points hit 2600 Lp. "I activate **Blood Spawn**!" He shouted as his face down card flipped up. "It allows me to send two monsters from my Deck to the Graveyard to Special Summon two identical monsters from my Deck!"

The same viscious fluid appeared and congealed into two golems made of obsidian crystal each carrying clubs. (1300ATK/2000DEF) "My **Blood Guardians** are about to show a mere smidgen of my ability. And don't try to use your Lord of the Red's ability. No monster with the word 'Blood' in it's name, save for Blood Mefist can be destroyed for the rest of the turn my Trap is activated."

"Grr, so what?! I end my turn with anotha face down card!" Joey snapped.

"Then It's my go again. Prepare yourself, Joey. Your dying world's about to get a lot bigger." His foe said, drawing his next card.

"How so?" The armored teen asked, more annoyed than interested.

"Because my two Guardians are of the same Level...I can do this!" Blood threw his arm up. "I combine my monsters to construct...the Overlay Network!"

"Overlay WHAT-!?"

Blood's two golems morphed into orbs of purple light that swirled together in a black spiral vortex above them.

" _When the shadows reign over the light, the darkness of man is revealed! Swoop down, my great beast! Descend forth,_ _ **Blood Des-Wyrm**_ _!"_

The vortex exploded into a pillar of light and from it burst out an alien draconid, with red scales, a single black horn above it's jaw, and a rider wearing demonic armor and carrying a bow. (2300ATK/0DEF) Two black orbs of darkness orbited around them.

"Just...what in the hell is that?!" Joey panicked.

"It's called an Xyz Summon." Blood described, folding his hands. "Any number of monsters sacrifice their bodies so that their souls can bring forth a monster from another universe. The two Units around my Des-Wyrm are those very souls, and can be expended to activate special abilities. But you won't live long enough to see very much of this new power."

"Oh yeah!? Well guess what? Your freaky-deaky monster is a hundred points short of bein' able to beat me!" Joey protested, his armor's wings flapping and kicking up wind.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk. So naive. Des-Wyrm's ability. I can remove an Overlay Unit and exclude a "Blood" monster in my Graveyard from the duel to increase his attack points by 700!"

The dragon devoured one of the Overlay Units around it, and glowed with evil forces. (3000ATK)

"You just used a card effect!" Joey said. "That means I can destroy that stupid thing!" His body emanated a fiery aura and a tremendous ball of fire shot at Blood's new monster.

"From my Graveyard, I activate the effect of **Blood Wall**!" Blood shouted as a wave of dark miasma arose from a grave portal and congealed into a wall made of muscle tissue studded all over with eyes.

"This card Special Summons itself and takes the hit for my Des-Wyrm!"

The fireball melted the new monster, prompting a grimace from Joey. ' _Lord of the Red only activates for Monster effects once per turn...dang it!_ '

"And now Des-wyrm attacks you, Joey!" The rider of the evil dragon drew back his bow and shot an arrow filled with malice as his dragon paired it with a jet of blue flames.

Joey screamed as his armor was destroyed.

Joey-1500 Lp.

"That's it for my turn. Better hope the gods show you some level of mercy. But they don't. Not to filthy sinners!"

"I...am not...a sinner!" Joey snarled. "So far, _you_ ' _re_ the only sinner I see, you freak! You're made of evil itself, brought on by that stupid seal of Dartz's, and I ain't losing to nothing like that! **I** ' **ll** be the one to beat you, and I'll do it with the heart of a true duelist!"

Blood drew back at his statement.

"Fine. Very well... _ **True Duelist...**_ come at me."

"It's my move. I draw!" Joey shouted. Much to Blood's shock, the card had seemed to be on fire as he drew it.

"What?"

"I'll play this! Red-Eyes Fusion!" Joey declared. "It combines two monsters from my Hand, Deck, or Field listed on a Fusion Monster that needs a Red-Eyes monster as a material. So here goes. I fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon to bust out Meteor Black Dragon!"

Red-Eyes and a dragon with a shell of hot craggy stone appeared before swirling together in a vortex, combining into a larger dragon with a bulky body, beak-like jaw, molten, rocky hide, and blazing red eyes. (3500ATK/)

"How did he obtain a Fusion Spell so powerful!?" Blood shouted.

"Awright!" Joey shouted. "Since your Xyz thing's attack points went back down to normal, he's fair game to deal you a heapin' helpin'a damage! Attack! Molten Meteor!"

Meteor Black Dragon gave a roar before being coated in a corona-like flame and flew at Blood Des-Wyrm, burning right through it.

The evil counterpart of Atem recoiled from the intense heat and the force of the impact.

Blood-1400 Lp.

"You ain't so tough! I don't see how Yusei and his friends had so much trouble with a loser like that I can have on the ropes in no time!"

Blood brushed his midsection to find his abdomen had vanished.

"Y...you bastard!" He cursed uncharacteristically, and shaking his fist, knuckles turned white. A dark red Eye of Wdjat burned into his forehead.

Joey grinned until he felt the sand beneath his feet tremble, causing his legs to quake until he tumbled over. "Wah-!"

Blood Atem levitated into the sky, which was being lit up with wicked lightning. Joey glanced to either side to see massive twisters of sand arise from the earth in every direction.

"Oh man, what did I just do!?"

"I draw!" Blood shouted, swiping a new card from his Deck.

"From my hand, I activate **Blood Burst**! By removing a "Blood" Monster in my graveyard from the battle, I can inflict half it's attack points in damage to my opponent and draw more card!"

"No way!" Joey shouted as Blood Des-Wyrm reappeared, and exploded in a blast of stygian fire. "GAAH!" He was sent crashing into another sand dune as Blood drew his next card.

Joey-350 Lp.

"Now I activate Monster Reborn to ressurect Blood Sorceress." Blood continued as his scantily clad magician girl reappeared with a venomous glare at Joey. (2000ATK/1700DEF)

"Turn...over."

Joey drew his next card. ' _He couldn't be satisfied with just that...He's gotta have something else in store...But I drew Little-Winguard! If I attack, and it goes through, this could all be over as quick as that! But...Bah! To heck with concerns!_ '

"I summon Little-Winguard and attack with Meteor Black Dragon!" He shouted.

The tiny warrior appeared as his molten dragon shot toward the sorceress with it's celestial flame aura ready to burn her away. And it did.

However, instead of acting worried, Blood started chuckling.

"You REALLY shouldn't have done that. You've made her master mad." He said with a crazed expression.

"What!?"

"When Blood Sorceress is destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon _her_ master from my Hand! Behold!"

A spiral of chaotic energy appeared behind him and it slowly took the shape of a familiar figure.

What very well may have been Dark Magician appeared, but with crimson armor with black accents appeared. He had a ghastly pale face with black eyes. (2500ATK/2100DEF)

" **Blood Magician.** " Atem's doppleganger said with a ghostly echo.

"He ain't so tough! My Dragon's a whole 'nother thousand attack points stronger 'dan him!"

"True, but HE isn't my target. All I have to do is kill your Winguard and this duel is over!" Blood laughed.

"Oh yeah? Just try it! I set one card and end the turn!"

' _'Dis Roulette Spider isn't a sure thing, like Yug's Mirror Force, but it can redirect his attack to Meteor Black Dragon, or himself! Worse case scenario...it hits me directly. It's a long shot, but it's the only thing I got going for me._ ' Joey thought.

"Draw..." Blood said. "Blood Magician! Dispell Little-Wingguard and end Wheeler's life! Doom Magic Attack!"

The evil wizard aimed his staff at Joey's warrior.

"I don't think so! Go, Roulette Spider!" Joey announced. His card flipped up, and the cartoon-y checkered spider flew at Blood Magician.

It vanished before it could latch to his face.

"What!" Joey said, sweat gushing down his face.

"When Blood Magician declares an attack... **The opponent cannot activate card effects until the end of the damage step**." Blood described.

"Oh no!" The young man screamed as Blood's magician unleashed a hellish stream of black magic at Little-Winguard. It exploded with a pained cry.

Joey-0 Lp.

Blood's feet hit the ground as he started advancing on Joey.

"And now...old friend...You will go to face your judgement."

He held his hand up, emitting a red glow.

"No...It...it can't...end like this...It...just can't!" Joey cursed, tears building in his eyes, worsened by the sand.

"Accept your fate!" Blood commanded.

As Joey's body started to fade away into red nothingness, a majestic shriek echoed from above.

"What in the-!?" He cried as his vision was filled with a more heavenly crimson radiance.

Blood cursed in his throat.

"That accursed serpent is interfering again!? How dare that sorry excuse for a deity forget it's place!?"

The Crimson Dragon descended from the heavens, and as Joey's body nearly disappeared, the dragon snatched him up in his maw and vanished like thin air.

Silence filled the empty void of the desert-like dimension as Blood grit his teeth in rage.

"It seems...even the gods are opposed to me...No matter. The Crimson Dragon cannot stall me forever. My...servants are closing in on his proxies. Heh-heh-heh..." The dark doppleganger vanished as the words left his lips.

 **0**

In a different dimension entirely seperate from where Joey had been taken, Akiza stood alone on what appeared to be a desolate frozen tundra.

"Jack? Yusei!? Where are you?"

No answer came.

"What has that monster done now? I'm all alone..." She whispered as the coldness intensified.

"Indeed you are, Akiza Izinski...or shall I call you the Black Rose Witch?"

The red-head turned to see a figure standing right behind her. It was another woman, roughly her own age, with long, flowing silver hair, wearing a form-fitting white and blue riding suit. Her cold golden eyes glare into Akiza's.

"Wh...who are you? And how do you know to call me the Black Rose!?" Akiza asked, taking a jump backward.

"I am Kraia. An oracle of Lord Blood." The woman began, lifting up her arm. A Duel Disk resembling that of Duel Academy formed from snow and ice. "And by his decree, your sinful soul is to be cast into the shadows."

Akiza grimaced. "I don't know who you are, but I wouldn't test me. I've been in a bad mood for quite a while, and that Yugi-look alike's false claims of justice aren't helping! I don't want to hurt you."

"That's a lie, and you know it. Human beings breed death and violence! Enough talk!" Kraia commanded. "Now your judgement begins!"

Akiza powered on her Duel Disks, the inner card zones extending. "Not today!"

"Duel!"

 **0**

Far away from the battle about to ensue, in the proper dimension of Earth, a young man walks through a dark corridor and approaches a stairway to the outside. He has platinum blond hair, with a boyishly handsome appearance, dark skin, and purple eyes.

"Please, brother...must you really go alone?" A slightly older young woman asked. She has long black hair and wears a band around her throat, with white and gold fashions.

"I must, sister. The Pharaoh's powers have returned yet again, and are being misused. I must do this...For my father...for my birthright as a tombkeeper...and for the Pharaoh himself. May this mark be my guide."

He held up his arm, which bore a scarlet mark of a dragonic claw in a clutching position.

"I see...be careful...

"Marik."

 **0**

 **Joey has lost his ruinous battle with Blood Atem! But what plan does the Crimson Dragon have in store, and why does the former Tombkeeper Marik have a Signer Mark!? Furthermore, who is Kraia, and what dangers await for Akiza, as well as the others that have been seperated!? The plot thickens, next chapter!**

 **Until then, rate and review~**

 **0**

 **-Card Index-**

 **Blood Lightning**

 **Normal Spell Card**

 **Target 1 Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls; destroy it and inflict 500 damage to your opponent. Your opponent cannot chain card effects to this effect.**

 **Blood Spawn**

 **Normal Trap Card**

 **Send 2 Monsters from your Deck to the Graveyard; Special Summon 2 "Blood" Monsters from your Deck with the same name. "Blood" monsters cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn after this effect resolves, except "Blood Mefist".**

 **Blood Guardian**

 **Level 3/DARK/Rock/Effect/1300ATK/2000DEF**

 **All monsters your opponent controls must attack this card (If able). Any battle damage this card deals to your opponent is doubled.**

 **Blood Des-Wyrm**

 **Rank 3/DARK/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/2300ATK/0DEF**

 **2 Level 3 DARK Monsters.**

 **Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and banish 1 "Blood" Monster from your Graveyard; this card gains 700ATK.**

 **Blood Wall**

 **Level 1/DARK/Fiend/Effect/0ATK/0DEF**

 **When a Blood Monster you control is targeted for a card effect that would destroy it; special summon this card from your graveyard. This card then becomes the target of that effect(even if the targeting conditions are no longer correct.)**

 **Blood Burst**

 **Quickplay Spell Card**

 **Banish 1 "Blood" Monster from your graveyard; inflict damage to your opponent equal to half it's atk, then draw 1 more card.**

 **Blood Magician**

 **Level 7/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect/2500ATK/2100DEF.**

 **When this card declares an attack, your opponent cannot activate card effects until the end of the damage step. If this card destroys a monster your opponent controls as a result of battle, you can target 1 "Blood" Monster in your graveyard; special summon it, ignoring it's summoning conditions**


End file.
